


Hacked

by Zuzanny



Category: Voltron Force
Genre: Balton culture, Balton history, Balton's are special, Creepy Badguy, Floriography, Hermaphrodites, I don't like the cadets, M/M, Medical stuff, Mpreg, Other, PSTD, Pidge is a ninja, Space demons, Stalking, colonialisation, mind hacking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 12:51:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 23
Words: 58,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13501990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zuzanny/pseuds/Zuzanny
Summary: While performing maintainance out Zee sector with Daniel tagging along, something happened to Pidge. Something that has messed with his mind. Will he ever recover? What is it about his Balton heritage that made him the target? Pidge centric fic. ?Parings. Implied M/M relationships amongst other things. Rating gone up to M for chapter 14 for very adult themes,





	1. Waking Up Damaged

24/07/2012

Voltron Force and it's characters do not belong to me. I am borrowing them only 'coz I like to play with them.

Hacked

by Zuzanny

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Returning to consciousness was a hard and gradual thing that mainly revolved around realising he could hear sounds and feel things. The first noises came as beeping of machines, swooshing air, foot steps on metal floors, and people's voices- although what they actually said was beyond him, it all blurred together. More noises came, things dragged across floors, creaking as people sat in chairs... Sometimes the sounds were louder than others, and sometimes that hurt, and when it hurt the machines would beep louder and more insistent and then would come the running feet and the voices. But soon after that, there would come coolness and warmth all at once and the pain would melt away and then so would he.

Physical sensation, beyond the presence or absence of pain, was something that soon followed awareness of sound. Sometimes there would be all encompassing warm snugness that would grow uncomfortable when left too long. Abruptly be voices buzzing in his ear and cold, with things running all over him. Sometimes cold liquids that made him shiver, but roughness dragged against his skin would take the cold away. Then touching all over, shifting, rolling, feeling like falling only to stop and be covered in warm snugness again. He would try to tell them to stop, but he couldn't find his mouth. But it didn't matter, they would soon go and leave the beeping and swooshing as the only sounds around.

There was one particular voice that would often hover beside him, and give him warmth around the hand. When that voice and the warmth of his hand were gone, he wanted to ask them to stay, but couldn't remember how.

Pain brought unwanted awareness. It cut through the fog encasing his mind, persistent clawing in his head that never really left, and would briefly fade only to return. When it was at it's worse, there would come vibrations from within his own self, and a voice would come with that vibration, and then the feet and the other voices would surround him. With the voices would come the cool-heat in his arm that made the pain fade, but not for long. Never for long. Then everything would start all over again.

The familiar voice was back, and this time the warmth was not around his hand but... running through his hair, caressing his scalp. It felt nice He wanted it to continue forever.

"I wish you could wake up and tell us what happened." The voice said, and it was such a shock to be able to understand the voice that he turned his head towards it and opened his eyes. There was a large brown haired man wearing yellow and black, leaning in close from the chair he was seated in. His strong hand paused in it's caressing and reached across to the other side of him almost blocking his view of the man. "Pidge?" the man yelped, leaning in closer. "Can you hear me little buddy?" The man sounded almost excited. "Are you back?"

It was hard to keep his eyes open though. He felt so tired from just turning his head, and his eyes started drooping closed no matter how hard his struggled to keep them open. He wanted to keep his eyes open because he realised that he recognised this man. Both the man's voice and appearance were familiar and he didn't want to lose that.

"Stay with me little buddy!" the man insisted, giving his shoulder a slight shake. He realised that there was a name floating through his mind that was attached to this man and brought feelings of warmth and happiness. He felt his own face shifting to reflect those feelings.

"Hunk..." he breathed out, watching as Hunk's face lit up with his own happiness.

"I'm here, Pidge." Now the hand wasn't running through his hair any more, Hunk clasped both his large, warm hands around his smaller, much paler one. He tried to squeeze Hunk's hand, but only managed a twitch. "I'm here," Hunk continued. "I won't leave you."

"Don't stop..." he managed to breath out again, eyes losing the battle to stay open. "feels... nice..." He felt like he should be sinking into the mattress.

There were a few moments where Hunk said nothing, then asked, "Want me to keep patting your head? Okay." And he did.

"Mmmmmm..." he managed to vocalise before exhaustion pulled him back under. He didn't hear the approaching feet, or the voices of team mates and medical personnel. He was content with Hunk's fingers running through is hair.

There was another sound now, a light tinkling against glass. It was raining.

Hunk was asleep in the arm chair beside the bed he next time he woke. There weren't so many machines beeping while they did their monitoring as there had been. The room was dimly lit. It was only that he recognised the sound of the snores that emanated from the chair, and the particular feel of the hand clutching his, that he knew it was Hunk.

He squeezed Hunk's hand, not very hard really, but it was enough to make Hunk snort and snap awake. "Hey..." he murmured up at Hunk, who's eyes immediately focussed through the gloom down to him. Hunk leaned close and tightened the grip on his hand.

"Hey, Pidge." he could actually hear the smile in Hunk's voice. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

"Tired." He was actually able to speak it now. He rubbed the crust from his burning eyes with his free hand only to stare at the IV cannula piercing his skin there. "Where am I? In a hospital?"

"Yeah," Hunk replied. "Arus Main Central."

"Oh." He blinked a few times, realising that he knew where that was. He felt pleased about that, but- "Why?"

"We hoped you could tell us, actually." Hunk shifted in his chair. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"You." He replied honestly. "Being here."

"And before being here?"

He tried to think about anything before he had woken up here with Hunk sitting beside him. He frowned. "You." he insisted. "Being here. Touching my hair. I like that." He smiled, hoping this would encourage Hunk to continue massaging his scalp. Hunk didn't take the hint though, just frowned.

"What about before that. Can you remember what you were doing out Zee sector?'

"Zee sector?"

"Yeah. You and Daniel were doing maintenance on the remote sensors or something, and something happened."

He stared at Hunk's face and himself frowned. He had no idea who Daniel was let alone anything to do with Zee sector. . "Zee sector." he whispered to himself, eyes going distant as he tried to think of what Zee sector could even be. But it felt like his head had been stuffed with cotton wool, and there was fog that somehow started playing drums inside his skull. The more he tried to think about Zee sector, the louder the drum beats sounded.

"Don't worry about it." Hunk said, then once again started to run those wonderful fingers through his hair.

His eyes shuttered with pleasure. "Don't stop," he purred. "Feels nice. Takes the drums away. I don't like the drums."

"Okay." Hunk whispered. "You just relax, and I'll keep the drums away."

He fell asleep with Hunk's fingers gently massaging, scraping and stroking through his hair. He didn't see the troubled expression on Hunk's face.

Hunk wasn't there the next time he drifted to awareness. This time it was a young man – a teenager- with messy black hair and a grey uniform that was in the seat. The young man was leaning forward over his knees like someone with breathing problems. His eyes were cast down at the floor while he spoke. He looked vaguely familiar, but maybe that was a resemblance to someone else? Someone a bit older, also with messy black hair?

"I'm so sorry, Pidge." The young man sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't stuffed up you wouldn't be here now. You wouldn't have been... hurt. I'm so sorry. I know you could never forgive me, but I want you to know that I really AM sorry."

A name connected in his mind. "Daniel," he said, delighted over that realisation.

Said Daniel's head shot up revealing tear stained eyes. "Pidge?" he hedged with such hope in that young voice, and scrambled closer to the bed. "Pidge! Pidge! You're awake!" Daniel was virtually yelling in his ear, and he flinched not at all liking the volume. "I really AM sorry!" Daniel continued.

"Okay." He said, not really understanding why Daniel should be sorry for anything except being really loud. His response had Daniel peering at him with a strange expression, so he did his best to summon a bright, reassuring smile.

"Pidge?" Daniel's voice shook with concern.

"Hmmm?" He smiled some more at the young man.

"Do you remember what they did to you?"

He blinked, his smile never faltering. "What do you mean?"

Daniel grimaced, and shuddered like someone had dropped a block of ice down his back. "Out Zee sector."

He frowned. Didn't Hunk ask him something about Zee sector as well? What was so important about it? Where was it anyway? Hunk had said he was in hospital on Arus, and Arus was a planet, right? Right. And so in relation to Arus, there were other planets and moons and stars and suns and asteroids and satellites and and and... Images flashed inside his eyes or all those objects floating in the vast never ending darkness, and more besides. How could he see these things? How could he recognise locations and distances between each object based on this or that constellation? Or by the angle and colour of the sun light hitting the console? Why was he floating amongst the stars? And why could he see himself seated in front of a console? Why was he here on Arus when he should be on Balto?

"So you're from Balto." It was a woman whispering in his ear, her voice spreading though his mind, dripping with poison and promise of horrors. "How wonderful, a BALTON Voltron pilot. Oh what delightful irony." He could feel her crawling though his mind, sifting through his memories and thoughts and he was helpless to stop her. "And just entering the most INTERESTING stage in your life-cycle. My Lord will be SO pleased." He could feel her glee.

His breath caught in his throat, and he tried to struggle out of the hands holding him in place. "No," he gasped out in terror while she laughed and continued to spread through his mind. "No, you CAN'T! Stop it!"

"Pidge?" Daniel's voice made him blink hard, and he was back in the hospital bed. The machines were beeping loudly again, probably to do with his pounding heart. He took in a couple slow breaths through his teeth trying to calm his heart. "Are you alright?"

"No." He whispered, whole body trembling. "I think... I think I have been hacked."

To be continued...


	2. Floriography Lesson

09/08/2012- 11/08/2012. Big thanks to Matt for his help!

Voltron and it's characters don't belong to me, blahblahblah, etc..

Hacked

by Zuzanny

chapter 2.

(insertlinebreakhere)

Keith stood beside Daniel, both watching through the observation window as Pidge sat up to spoon some of the hospital goo (in some places known as food.) into his mouth with shaky hands. Watching their team mate struggling to do the simplest of tasks was painful, but they had noticed that once Pidge did manage to do something, he was able to continue to do so. It was almost like he had forgotten how to do absolutely everything, but if given a reminder, it would come back to him. Even so, Keith didn't like that glazed, half smile Pidge was wearing all the time now. Pidge had always been brilliant and sharp, now when Keith looked at him, it was to see that Pidge wasn't quite all there. It wasn't right, and it was something that a giant robot could do nothing to fix. It made Keith want to smash something. "Are you sure he said he'd been hacked?" he asked.

Daniel hugged himself and looked at the floor. "Yeah."

"Just as well I had all the codes changed and set the hangers on alert then."

"But what does being hacked even mean anyway?" Daniel scuffed his boots against the polished lino.

"You know computer hacking, right?" Daniel nodded. "It's the same type of thing just with someone's mind."

"But Pidge isn't a computer!" It was almost yelled.

"I know. That's what makes it so damaging." Keith continued observed the young man for a few moments, eyes narrowing at the discomfort shown in his body language. "Is there something else?"

Daniel took in a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. "It's just... I just don't get why they would DO it. Why? Humiliation? I suppose so, but Pidge doesn't get embarrassed over that sort of stuff, so why? To make him freeze to death quicker?" He raised his eyes to Keith's narrowed ones. "It just keeps playing on my mind."

"What does?"

Daniel pressed his hands against the glass and looked back into the room at Pidge who was laughing with delight over the red jelly as it wobbled in the dish in front of him. "Why would they have taken all his clothes off?"

(insertlinebreakhere)

Keith's blood had turned to ice at Daniel's question. "Perhaps it was both." he replied, and immediately turned and marched away to find Allura. It was something that he had not considered. None of them had. They had all ignored it because that sort of thing was beyond what they normally dealt with. But Keith should have known better. It was his job to know better. Daniel was still so innocent, of course he wouldn't understand the significance, but Keith did. It made him sick that he had missed it.

Daniel had been the first person on the scene, had found Pidge lying in a crumpled heap in the freezing control centre of that abandoned space station. Daniel had done his best to administer aid to their team mate while waiting for the rest of them to arrive. Keith remembered how he had vaguely noticed Pidge's clothes had been misaligned and undone while taking off the thermal blanket to examine his team mate's injuries, but he had put that down to part of the process of defending ones self while getting the crap kicked out of you. And there had been plenty of evidence to show that Pidge had put up a fight. There were hundreds of holes in the walls where his Smart Stars had hit, and from the material also recovered, there had been just as many adversaries to fight off. Pidge was lucky to be alive. No, scratch that, Pidge would be lucky to recover even half of his mental capacities again after that attack. For the longest time they thought he would never even wake up.

It had not occurred to Keith that the reason why Pidge's clothes had been messed up was because Daniel had tried to re-dress him, or that there had even been a REASON for that need. Keith knew from experience that it was really hard to dress an unconscious person with help let alone all by yourself. Let alone in the freezing cold of space with virtually no life support, and with the chance that the person you were dressing had a broken neck and you could kill them with the very movements you are attempting to save their lives with. Of course Daniel would be bothered be this, it was a tactic unused by their enemies normally.

Keith turned into the room where Allura, Lance and Hunk were discussing medical things with one of the doctors. They all turned to him as he entered.

"Hacked." He confirmed, and they all winced.

"Are you sure?" Allura asked, and he nodded. "But that's good, right? At least we know he may recover. This is better than permanently brain damaged." She turned to the doctor. "Right?"

"As I was saying," The doctor pointed to images of brain scans on his computer. "There is no physical damage observable to is brain, either by injury or chemical inducement. However mind hacking does not leave physical traces."

"Man, we are so screwed." Lance said and started talking security related things with Hunk, while the doctor and Allura started discussing the known types of life forms capable of mind hacking.

"There's more." Keith interrupted, and caught the doctor's eye. "Did your lot do a kit on him by any chance?"

The doctor blinked, and shook his head. "No, there was no sign of trauma that would indicate it would be needed even with-"

"He's a Balton." Keith snapped, and the Doctor paled, before sinking into his chair muttering sacred prayers. While Allura and Lance both looked confused, Hunk made a pained noise.

"But... but...Wait, do you know, or just suspect?"

"Well from what Daniel just told me, I suspect heavily."

"But that means-"

Keith just nodded grimly.

"Do you think he knows?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Hunk."

"Oh, my poor little buddy."

(insertlinebreakhere)

There was a huge bunch of flowers on Pidge's bedside table when Allura graced his room with her presence. He was staring at the large, bright selection of plants (that Allura thought looked like some random grab from someone's garden and not at all professionally attended), with his head cocked to the side with contemplation.

"Hello Pidge." she said quietly, and lowered herself onto the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling today?" He turned his head to blink at her and squint at her for a few moments while the cogs moved in his head. Then she saw the recognition flood through his eyes and he beamed at her with happiness. She forced herself not to tear up with the relief that recognition had given her.

"Hello Princess Allura. I feel like I am functioning approximately twenty-five percent of normal. But yesterday I was only fifteen percent, so I consider this a vast improvement. Pi is still missing, but that's alright, I much prefer using Tau anyway." And he grinned at her. "How are you?"

Allura blinked, not sure how to take his comments murmuring that she was well. She looked at the flowers. "Uh, these are beautiful, who are they from?"

"From father. But I thought his message was a bit strange."

Allura felt alarm run through her. "Your... father? May I see the card?"

Pidge just tilted his head to the side again and gave her a puzzled look. "Card?"

"Otherwise how do you know it was from your... your father?" She didn't mention what she knew about Pidge's family and how the only living remainders of such did not include a father.

But Pidge waved at the collection of flowers themselves. "I can only assume because They say so. Surely, Princess, you know how to read such language. I would have thought that would be essential to your position."

"Of course." she demurred. "However, I have been so busy lately that I must admit to being remiss in the practice of this one."

Pidge gave her a long, searching look – while she tried to smile innocently at him- then turned to point out each one of the flowers. "Message. Sorrow. Sorrowful remembrance. Remorse. Energy on adversity. Surprise. Sensuality. Pleasures of memory. Pleasure and pain. Warlike trophy. Mental beauty. Sweet innocence. Reconciliation. Sincerity. Forgive and forget. Sincere regret. Joys to come. Regard. Strength of character. A proud spirit. Impatient of absence. I think of you. Secrecy. Paternal error. I feel my obligation. Temptation. Impatience. Lowliness, envy or remorse. Fascination. You please all. Excitement. You occupy my thoughts. Affection. Health. . An expected meeting. Anticipation. Lasting pleasures." Pidge paused, and shook his head while Allura sat stunned and horrified. "My father is obviously a very strange man."

"Obviously."

"Either that, or someone randomly grabbed any plants they could get their hands on while on their way here, and these have no significance what soever."

They both chuckled over that, but Allura knew what was more likely. "Did you see who delivered them?"

"No. It was strange really, even the medical staff didn't see who brought them, just that they were here. I must have fallen asleep again, because I also don't remember them being brought in. I feel sorry for who ever tried to visit me. I feel kind of rude now for missing them."

"I think your visitor would have understood you sleeping through their visit. How do you know what the flowers mean?"

Pidge frowned and looked back at them. "I... don't know. Not yet anyway. I just KNEW them when I saw them." He lowered his eyes to the blankets covering his legs, and started tracing nervous patterns on them with his fingertips. "The doctor says it's common when you've been hacked to have your memories all messed up. He said that they are still there, but it's like someone's come into your house and thrown all your belongings about. That it will take a while to clean it up and put it all back in order, but that it will all still be there. Do you think that's true?" Pidge's eyes turned up to hers with such a hopeful look that it made her heart ache.

"I hope so." She said, and enclosed him in a hug, only to pull back when he went rigid in her arms and made a small distressed gasp. "Pidge, Pidge, are you alright?"

His face was pale and she could see him trembling while he turned his head to look behind himself. "I just thought..." He shook his head, and kept his eyes low. "It's stupid."

"No it's not. Please tell me."

"I thought I saw a woman. Standing behind me." He shook his head and gave a mirthless chuckle. "How stupid, huh? I mean, you're here, there's no window where you are for me to be seeing her reflection like that. And there's no where she could have been standing anyway." He was still trembling, and Allura could see the fine sheen of sweat forming on his brow.

"Pidge," Allura said seriously, gently grasping hold of his hand. "I'm going to tell you something important. Not everything you remember will be nice."

To be continued?

Author's notes:

These meanings are taken from "The Language of Flowers", written in 1913, published in 1968. I don't know the author. Copy right is Margaret Pickston.

Adonis – sorrowful remembrance

Apple – temptation

Balsam – impatience

Bramble – lowliness, envy, remorse

Branch of currants – you please all

Camomile – energy in adversity

Cardamine – paternal error

Celandine – joys to come

Corchorus – impatient of absence

Daffodil- regard

Flowering fern – fascination

Fern, Garden chervil, Honesty- sincerity

Geranium (nutmeg) – An expected meeting

Gladiolus – strength of character

Gloxinia – a proud spirit

Gooseberry – anticipation

Hazel – reconciliation

Hartsease or pansy – you occupy my thoughts

Purple hyacinth – sorrow

Iceland moss – Health

Indian cress – warlike trophy.

Iris – message

Kennedya – mental beauty

Lint – I feel my obligation

Pea (everlasting)- an appointed meeting, lasting pleasures

Periwinkle (white) – pleasures of memory

Raspberry – remorse

Rose (dog) – pleasure and pain

Rose (full blown placed over two buds) – secrecy.

Salvia (blue)- I think of you

Scilla (blue)- forgive and forget

Scilla (white) – sweet innocence

Spanish jasmine – sensuality

Truffle - surprise


	3. Security Breach

17 – 19 August 2012

Hacked

by Zuzanny

Part 3

(insertlinebreakhere)

"We've got a problem." Allura burst into the room, causing the rest of her team mates to gather while she marched over to Keith and the control panel he was seated in front of. He span his chair around to face her.

"Only one?" Lance supplied.

"Pidge had a visitor today. His location has been compromised." She told them about the flowers and their message, and how no one saw the flowers being delivered.

"Creepy meanings." Hunk said. "I don't like it."

Keith immediately span back to the computer system to access the hospital security cameras, scrolling back through the last couple of hours from all angles, and muttering how Pidge was so much better at the computer stuff than he was. He selected the cameras for all the entrances leading to Pidge's location, as well as the central desk, and set the screen to view them all at once. Very quickly he noticed a problem with the time coding. "That's interesting." Everyone crowded around to peer at the screen. "Exactly one hour is missing from all these shots."

"An hour?" Lance piped up. "What times between?"

"It starts just before Daniel and I went to see him," Keith said.

"And ends just after my visit with him." Allura added.

"Strange that." Keith pondered out loud. "We know that the flowers were delivered some time between our visits, so why delete that much?"

"Maybe you guys saw someone, or maybe saw something that would help identify this guy?" Lance suggested.

Both Allura and Keith thought over their visits, but couldn't think of anything that stood out.

"It doesn't matter." Keith announced. "Pidge's position and the security here has been compromised. We need immediate evac."

"What about his injuries?" Hunk asked. "Can we treat them ourselves?"

"I will talk to the staff here." Allura said. "If we need to, I will request one of them to come with us." And by request, they knew she meant demand.

"Right. Lance, go check the transport. Hunk, guard Pidge. I'm going to keep an eye on security here. Communicate through coded channels only. Evac to the castle ASAP. Clear?"

They all scurried to do their jobs.

(insertlinebreakhere)

Pidge looked around him with wonder as he rode in the transport into the castle grounds. His face pressed to the window to look up the tower walls as they entered the gates, seeing the flags at the tops of the great spires flapping in the wind. Their colours were bright in the clear blue sky. The grounds of the castle were green and well kept, everything looked perfectly normal and beautiful and just what a castle out of a fairy tail should look like. But even thought the walls were built with large block of grey stone, Pidge knew there were weapons and scanners hidden all over them, and that there were hidden traps all over the place, ready to fry intruders. "Because I put them there." He whispered out loud.

"What?" Hunk asked, seated across from him.

"Nothing." Pidge presented the man with a bright smile, and Hunk went back to looking out the windows in a highly distracted way... that made Pidge think he was looking out for imminent attack. Pidge had noticed all his team mates had been behaving like that actually. All tense, and sharp and looking at every single person near them as though they were a threat. Pidge didn't like it. "Hunk," he asked. "what's going on? I know I am cleared to leave the hospital, but what has you all freaked out so much?"

Hunk tried to laugh it off and changed the subject. Pidge frowned, but decided not to pursue the subject... for now.

(insertlinebrakhere)

The cadets were standing in wait for them in one of the castle's many formal lounges. Pidge wasn't allowed to enter until Keith had gone through every single room before him, and closed all the voluminous purple velvet curtains. Once again Pidge didn't like it, but apart from narrowing his eyes, he said nothing. Not that he could have said anything at that moment anyway. Walking from the transport bays to the interior of the castle was taking all his energy as it was. By the time they had made it into the lounge, he was shaking and his heart was pounding so hard that he felt like he had just run a marathon. Hunk ended up taking his arm and guiding him to one of the overly fluffy and formal couches which he sank into with a sigh.

No one relaxed until they were all finally in the room, and Keith had locked the doors behind them. After that, Allura was busy ordering where the medical supplies were to go, and for food to be brought. The cadets were all chattering away with the older members of the team. Pidge didn't care. He hadn't realised quite how much just that much walking had washed him out until he found himself being gently shaken awake... with his head on Hunk's knee and Hunk's fingers running though his hair. And really, with those magic fingers relaxing him in such a manner, who could blame him from falling asleep?

"Gotta eat something, Little buddy." Hunk was leaning his head down so Pidge could hear it through the chaos that was the cadets and their interaction with his team mates.

"Do I have to?" Pidge whined. "Tired."

Hunk snorted. "Yeah, I know. But you gotta take your meds with food, so up you get."

(insertlinebreakhere)

Pidge could barely keep his eyes open during the meal, and only managed to get a few spoons of soup down before leaning precariously to the side of the chair. Only Hunk being seated next to him stopped him form falling completely off the chair. Hunk had to shake him awake again so that he could take his pills, but then he was listing again. Hunk exchanged a glance with keith, who nodded.

"Come on, Little buddy, lets get you off to bed."

Pidge made a small noise of agreement, and not long after that Hunk actually lifted him into his arms and was carrying him out of the room.

Keith, Lance and Allura gave the cadets sharp looks that quickly cut off any snickers at that display.

"Drills. In lock-down mode." Keith ordered the cadets, who groaned, but stood to obey.

"What's their problem?" Larmina snarked while they walked the halls.

"Yeah, what did we do to deserve lock-down mode?" Vince whined. "It's like they hate us all of a sudden."

"No," Daniel said quietly. "It's because of Pidge." At the stunned looks of his fellow cadets he passed them and entered the drill hall. "If something can injure Pidge this badly, it would rip US to shreds."

(insertlinebreakhere)

The blood curdling scream had everyone scrambling from their own quarters and down the hall, weapons blazing and ready. Hunk was the first one in the room, and found Pidge sitting upright in his bed while he screamed, and immediately was by his side trying to find out what was going on, but could find no injuries and no intruders. Someone actually switched the light on, and the screaming stopped, but Pidge continued to sit staring into the air with an expression of horror, his mouth hanging open, panting heavily. Tears streamed down his face.

"Pidge?" Hunk hedged while carefully laying a hand on his shoulder. A shudder ran through Pidge's body, and his head lolled to the side to look up at Hunk with dilated pupils. Hunk wasn't sure he was actually even awake.

"Balto. Gone. All my people. Dead!"

Hunk pulled Pidge into a hug to let his sob against his shoulder, patting him gently, while looking back to the doorway at Allura and Keith who shared troubled expressions. "It was just a bad dream." Hunk tried to sooth him, qand even started rocking him back and forth.

"I saw it. My planet. Everyone. It's all gone. Oh my God, Chip!"

"Chip is alive. So is everyone else. It's just a really bad dream."

Pidge pulled back and actually grabbed Hunk by the lapels. "You DON'T. GET. IT!" Pidge growled angrily. "I SAW it happen! I SAW my planet destroyed. That was NOT just a bad dream, Hunk. I watched while it happened, and there was nothing I could do about it!" Then he burst into more sobs.

"I know Little Buddy. I know." Hunk looked back at his gathered team mates, begging for help with his eyes.

"It's true the original Balto was destroyed." Princess Allura spoke softly, and entered the room. "But it was fully evacuated before that happened and a new Balto had been built. Everyone is safe and well, Pidge. Even Chip." She sat on the edge of the bed while she spoke. Pidge pulled away from Hunk to look up at her through red eyes.

"How can you be sure everyone got off? With all those nukes, how can you really be sure everyone got off? And even if all the PEOPLE got off, what about all the animals, the knowledge, the history that's been lost?"

Allura ran a hand through his hair and he shivered. "We can't be sure, not really." She admitted. "We can only hope, and trust the information we received from the Baltan government about it. Remember I told you some of the things you would remember would not be nice?"

Pidge nodded, trying to suppress his tears now.

"This is one of them. But it's okay now. Things are better now."

"Promise?" Pidge's voice reminded them all of the eleven year old child they had first had on their team many years ago.

"Promise." Allura smiled at him, and after a few moments Pidge lay back down, his eyes flickering closed.

"Sorry," Pidge breathed when both Allura and Hunk stood to leave.

"No problem, little buddy." Hunk smiled back at at him from the doorway. "If you need anything, let me know."

Pidge didn't reply, his breathing slowing as he returned to sleep. Hunk turned the light off and together the rest of the team walked towards the lounge.

They did not see the ox eye daisy lying innocently on the bedside table.

Author's notes:

Ox eye daisy – A token


	4. Then and Now

19 Aug 2012-08 Sep 2012

Big thanks to Matt, Katti, and to Sempai Michael for their help with this chapter!

Hacked

by Zuzanny

part 4

(insertlinebreakhere)

Then...

"Can I ask you something?" Daniel had asked from the co-pilot seat, ignoring Pidge's not-so-subtle instructions to take his feet off of the control panel.

"You can always ask." Pidge had said, eyes never wavering from the stars in front of him as he piloted the ship.

"Why did Keith decide to send me with you on this lame maintenance ride? I can already see this is going to be bor-ring."

"Boring, huh? So you haven't noticed how even the most mundane missions can turn out to be dangerous, life threatening and even fatal to us?"

"You know what I mean."

Pidge paused before answering. "Do you want the truth, or an answer that caters to your ego?"

Daniel crossed his arms and turned his head to look at the wall opposite Pidge. "I want the truth."

"It's because you're a dickhead," Pidge told him easily, almost like he was discussing the weather. Daniel bristled at that, but Pidge continued as though he hadn't even noticed. "and Voltron Force is too important for your constant pissing contests."

"You can't talk to me like that!" Daniel raised his voice in offence.

Pidge turned his head and gave Daniel a narrow eyed look that promised pain and death. "Oh really?"

"You have no authority-"

"Do you even know who you are talking to, Cadet?" Pidge spat the word, and Daniel's mouth snapped closed. "I AM the Pilot of the Green Lion. I have been a fully fledged member of Voltron Force since I was 11 years old. I am the one responsible for the security network keeping the galaxy safe, and I am a NINJA. If I chose to space you out here, not only would no one ask any questions, they would accept any excuse I were to give as truth without needing to investigate"

"You wouldn't! You wouldn't do that!" Daniel shrieked with the first real fear of the real reason why Keith may have sent him out with Pidge after all.

"Wouldn't I?" Pidge asked, back to that casual tone, but now Daniel could hear the dangerous edge to it.

"You're not a murderer."

Pidge snorted. "Is it murder when you are at war? When you are doing what needs to be done to remove a very real threat to the life of your team? You just don't GET it Daniel. You're continual insubordination and outright disrespect for the chain of command will get us killed one day, if it doesn't kill you first. Either you pull your head in and start following orders while you still can, or you will be removed. It's that simple."

"So you're telling me Keith sent me here with you so you could space me? Great. Thanks a lot."

"No," Pidge returned his attention to piloting. "not this trip anyway. This is just punishment for you being a brat."

Daniel didn't really remember actually doing the attack, but he did remember the sudden, overwhelming rage, then he was on the floor blinking through dancing stars up at a standing Pidge. A standing Pidge with raised eye brows and a particularly unimpressed expression on his face.

"Your attack is sloppy." Pidge said, extending a hand to help Daniel stand. Daniel glared and reluctantly accepted the hand up, grimacing at the pain in his sternum from Pidge's strike to his chest, and rubbing at his backside where he had hit the ground. He could tell he was going to bruise in both places. Pidge stood in a relaxed yet defensive stance a few feet away from him. "Try again."

Daniel shook himself off and straightened his shoulders. "You're crazy."

Pidge's mouth tilted into a small smile, and stood calmly waiting.

With a cry Daniel charged at him, swinging a punch at his head. Pidge easily stepped to the side, caught his wrist to twist it behind Daniel's back, tripped him up, and sent him sprawling. "Again." Pidge ordered.

With a growl Daniel sprung at him, and literally found his butt kicked before his face impacted on the floor.

"Again."

"You're a freak!" Daniel shrieked.

"And your technique is abysmal. Again."

After several more times of Daniel impacting with the floor, or wall, or Pidge's foot or fist, Daniel sat in a pile on the floor, panting heavily and wiped blood from his split lip with the back of his hand. Pidge was completely unruffled and still standing in his relaxed stance, waiting for Daniel to continue.

Instead Daniel looked down at the floor. "What do you want?" he quietly asked.

"For you to wake up and be teachable." Pidge replied, equally as quiet. "For you to learn that you are not the centre of the universe. That in order to gain the power you so desperately desire that you fling it away from yourself, you have to LEARN to be responsible. Now, have you had enough, or do I need to put your head through the monitor as well?"

"Enough." Daniel whispered, then dragged himself from the floor to curl up in his chair to nurse his bruises. "I'm sorry."

Pidge inclined his head and returned to the pilot chair, flipping the controls to take the ship off of automatic. Daniel shrank a little inside when he realised that he also didn't remember Pidge having time to switch to autopilot before being attacked, and if it were anyone slower to react their ship most likely would have crashed or be completely off course by now. "Can I ask YOU something?" Pidge asked after a few moments of there being no sounds in the cockpit except Daniel's heavy breathing.

Daniel shrugged but didn't say anything.

"Why ARE you such a dickhead? I mean, you are obviously talented enough to get in the top three of the academy, why are you trying to throw it all away?"

Daniel remained silent, which could have been petulance or could have been genuine self examination. Pidge shrugged to himself and contented himself on watching the stars and being in his own company. He had plenty of practice being alone out here. Sometimes he got his best inspiration while heading to or from routine equipment checks like this one anyway.

But less than than two minutes of silence had passed before Daniel blurted out "Well you taught me, Dad." and with that Pidge spun around and smacked Daniel up the side of the head. "Try again with the truth or your face will meet the monitor."

Daniel gasped and clutched his head, panting from the sharp pain even that light tap had given him and said with caution, "Okay, I'm really sorry, please don't hit me again. I might be at the top three but you don't see the other two fighting for attention, or the best jobs, or to be included when it comes to entering a battle with evasive manoeuvres, do you? But for me its all I can do, at least I get noticed this way... and okay maybe not for all the best things, but can you honestly tell me I would have been your first choice for this trip out to do even a simple maintenance run?"

With That Pidge interrupted abruptly, "Daniel, you have so much potential buried under all that attitude. Do you think I would waste my time trying to get through to you if I couldn't see it? Just do your best, and stop trying to compete with everyone else. Put your back into the tasks you are given and give your best result no matter what. Fame is fleeting, and it wont be long till those two are tested and find out if they have the inner resilience to stand up to the challenge or not. If they do, great, but if not, you will, and all the other crap in-between will have been worth the battle."

(insertlinebreakhere)

The next time Pidge turned on the auto pilot was to demonstrate one of the many kata he ran through daily. Daniel watched in fascinated awe as Pidge's body moved in a liquid dance through all the perfectly controlled moves, strikes, kicks turns and rolls that the kata contained. Daniel realised he could imagine exactly where the opponents would be, and the injuries they would have fallen with. Some of the intricate movements showed Daniel that they wouldn't have survived, or would have had limbs broken. At the end of it, Pidge stood in the centre of the space, feet together and hands at his side, and bowed. Daniel clapped. It had been beautiful to watch.

"Will you teach me?" Daniel asked.

Pidge smiled and inclined his head. "Of course." And Daniel felt his heart soar.

(instertlinebreakhere)

Now...

Pidge's blood curdling screams brought everyone running for the the third night in a row. As usual, Hunk was the first to arrive, and switched on the light. This time it was to find Pidge standing pressed rigidly against the far wall of his bedroom, frantically whispering gibberish to himself. Hunk literally vaulted the bed to reach out to the smaller man and pull him into his arms. The others all watched from the door way while Pidge's wide, terror filled eyes darted about his room as though he was seeing completely other things. He continued his frantic whisperings even though Hunk was stroking his back and rocking him, and murmuring that everything was ok. Eventually he slumped, exhausted and breathing heavily, in Hunk's arms.

"You okay now, little buddy?" Hunk asked quietly. "let's get you back into bed." Pidge slowly turned his head, pressing his cheek against Hunk's shoulder. No one from the door was able to hear what Pidge then said, but they saw Hunk's back immediately straighten, and he spun, keeping Pidge against the wall, and turned his head to take a serious look at all the corners of the room. Then, still keeping protectively in front of Pidge, Hunk slowly lowered himself to check under the bed. Seeing Pidge's increasingly distressed expression, Princess Allura drew her staff and stepped closer to the bed tilting the edge of it to be able to lift the bedding. Keith drew his sword, and Lance his guns, both standing ready. Slowly Hunk reached out his hand towards the hanging blankets, then together with Allura, flipped them up to expose the empty floor under the bed.

Pidge made a relieved sound, and slid down the wall in a heap. Hunk knelt beside him trying to coax him back to his feet and back to bed.

"What the hell was that all about?" A very rumpled Larmina snapped from the hallway outside. "It's like dealing with a child. 'Monsters under the bed.' Feh!" The older crew members shot her dirty looks, which had her stomping off to her own bed in a huff.

"Want me to stay?" the other cadets heard Hunk ask. Pidge nodded solemnly and then was willing to slide back under the blankets. "Okay, I'll be right back." Hunk stood to leave, and Pidge's hand flashed out to grab his wrist, terror again flashing through his eyes. "Hey, I need to go get some of my own stuff, you know. I'll be right back." Still Pidge wouldn't let go.

"How about I stay with you while Hunk gets his things?" Lance suggested.

Pidge examined Lance's face for a few moments, before giving a single inclination of his head and releasing his grip on Hunk. Hunk gave Lance a thankful little nod and, after a meaningful silent communication with Keith and Allura, they all left taking the cadets with them.

Lance sat on the edge of Pidge's bed purposely not making sarcastic comments about how Pidge had pulled the blankets right up about his face like a little kid, or how big his eyes were right then. "So..." He drew it out awkwardly, while looking around Pidge's room, trying to think of something meaningful to say.

(Insertlinebreakhere)

Keith and Allura followed Hunk into his room where he quickly gathered his own pillow and blankets together. Daniel and Vince were standing out in the hallway.

"He said there was someone in his room." Hunk said in a low voice. "That he was paralized and they talked to him, and then hid under the bed when we came in. From what I could make out, what ever was being said wasn't particularly nice."

"But it was just a dream, a nightmare even." Allura said. "There was no one there."

"Hmm." Hunk grunted, neither agreeing or disagreeing, but pushed past her to leave again.

"I don't like it." Keith said when Hunk was pulling his stuff back through Pidge's door and Lance was waving goodnight to Pidge and headed in their direction. "I'm going to check security again."

"I'll join you." Lance said far too cheerfully for that time of the early morning.

Allura, Daniel and Vince watched them head towards the central security room. Allura sighed tiredly. "Let's go back to bed."

(Insertlinebreakhere)

Pidge watched every move Hunk made with wide eyes, and was silent as Hunk prepared for bed. Hunk turned on the bedside lamp before turning the main light off, and then motioned for Pidge to shift over so he could climb in beside him on the side closest to the door.

"Want me to leave this light on?" Hunk asked once under the blankets. Pidge nodded his head. "Okay." Hunk took in a deep, slow breath, lay on his back, and closed his eyes. He could feel the heat that was Pidge close by, and the blankets shook from Pidge's nervous shivering. Hunk cracked an eye open to look at Pidge who was now sitting up, and reached out to his friend. "Come here."

Slowly, like a wild animal, Pidge shifted close and lowered himself to Hunk's side. Once he lay his head on Hunk's shoulder, Hunk curled his arm around him to bring him closer. But Pidge stayed tense enough to shake.

"Relax." Hunk whispered, "I'm here." and he reached across with his left hand to stroke fingers through Pidge's hair. Pidge made a small noise, then with one last shudder, went limp. Hunk continued stroking Pidge's hair until his breathing slowed and he was really asleep, the he groaned and covered his eyes with that arm trying to block out the light

Under the bed, completely missed by all eyes, lay a blue salvia.

To be continued...

Blue salvia – I think of you.


	5. After a Night Terror

12 September 2012- 16 September 2012

Thanks again to Matt for helping out!

Please let it be known that I don't particularly like ANY of the cadets. I have found all their characters irritating, and seriously, if they are the best replacements for the current Voltron Force, the universe is so screwed.

Hacked

by Zuzanny

 

Part 5.

(insertlinebreakhere)

Pidge came to awareness with snug warmth spooned against his back and draped around his chest. Gentle breathing stirred his hair and tickled his neck, sending tingles throughout his body. He shifted slightly, and a sigh was sent through his hair and the arm draped over him tightened. A large, warm hand slid over the skin of his ribs before relaxing back into sleep. Pidge's eyes snapped open at that, blinking back against the sun streaming though the gap in the curtains, and he tried to remember where he was and why he would be lying next to someone in such a manner. His head hurt a bit, but not as bad as he expected after having a night of binge drinking. The hand drifted lazily down his front to rub slow circles in his belly, sending his heart racing in something he wasn't sure was panic or-

"Stop thinking, little buddy." Hunk's sleep-stained voice rumbled in his ear, again sending something like tiny electric shocks all though his body. "Just relax. You had a hard night. You're safe, and can go back to sleep if you want."

Pidge rolled over so that he faced his larger team mate, who still had his eyes closed and was breathing in a relaxed manner. Pidge had to admit he was relieved to see that Hunk was clothed, and after some self examination, so was he. His pyjamas had just ridden up and exposed his mid rift. Pidge let out a breath then bit his lip, still watching Hunk's relaxed repose.

"Hunk?"

"Hmmmn?"

"What happened? Why. Why... Why are you? Why are we?" Pidge felt himself blushing and unable to finish the sentences. Hunk chuckled, then rolled onto his back, reaching his arms up over his head to stretch.

"You had another night terror last night." Hunk explained. Pidge lowered his eyes in shame.

"Oh."

"Yeah, real doozy this time."

"I don't remember." Pidge said quietly.

"Probably just as well."

"Is... Did I... wake all the others?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't need to be sorry. Me being here seemed to help. I don't mind. Sleep is sleep no matter where it's done. How are you feeling this morning?"

Pidge hesitated just a moment, but that was all that was needed for Hunk's laser eyes to zero in on him. "My head hurts a little." He admitted sheepishly.

"I'll get your your pills." Hunk rolled out of his side of the bed, his bare feet slapping against the floor while he walked across the room. Pidge felt... cold... now that he was alone in his bed, and shifted over to snuggle in the spot Hunk left behind. Hunk chuckled as he watched Pidge curl up like a kitten, and collected the pills from their spot on the bench and a glass of water. He stopped mid stride back to the bed when his eyes fell on something out of place almost hidden out of view. It was only now that the sunlight was beaming down and highlighting it that Hunk noticed it. He placed the pills and the water on Pidge's bedside table and bent to scoop the object up from under the bed. Pidge sat up to put his glasses on and take the pills, then frowned when he saw the wilted blue salvia sprig Hunk was turning curiously about in his hand.

"I think of you." Pidge recited.

"Hmm?" Hunk looked back at him.

"That's what that flower means. I think of you."

"It was under your bed." Hunk said calmly, not at all betraying how disturbed he felt. Pidge just frowned more.

"That's weird. How did it get there?"

"Dunno." Hunk shrugged, then purposefully hid the flower behind his back smiled broadly. "Time to get you some breakfast!"

Pidge groaned, but submitted to Hunk's cheery goading to get him out of the bed. He was changing his top and brushed his arm against his own chest. "Ouch!" Pidge yelped with shock.

"What is it?" Hunk was instantly by his side, looking him over for injuries. Pidge stood there topless, staring down as his own chest, rubbing at the tender spots with confusion and alarm.

"I think I must have slept funny last night." Pidge told him with bemusement. "I seemed to have bruised myself."

"Could be some of the bruises just coming through now. Let me have a look." Hunk pushed Pidge's hands away to lean close and look at his chest. "I don't see any bruises. Where does it hurt?"

"Um... here and here." Pidge indicated to the area around both of his nipples.

Hunk gently ran his fingers over the soft skin there, backing off when Pidge hissed. "You got some swelling there, I think."

"Do you think I caught a virus or something, and my lymph nodes are... going crazy?" Hunk faintly agreed with the "or something", and Pidge then ran his fingers up and down his neck. "My neck is fine though. But it could explain the head ache."

"Your head hurts because your brain has been rattled around in your skull. But you never know what bugs are waiting out there in space, and you did get awful cold. I say you get checked out just in case."

Pidge pulled on a loose top and giggled to himself. "Yeah, that would be my luck, catching some strange mind altering, highly contagious space-flu."

"Could be worse. Could be space worms."

"Space worms?"

Hunk nodded seriously. "Yep. They float in the space dust and hatch on your skin to burrow into your flesh and eat you alive."

"There are is such thing!"

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is too. Same with space crabs, space monkeys and space slugs."

"Space SLUGS?!"

"Yep, they lay in wait on the belly of your craft until you come out to check the engines, and then, SPLAT! They land on your head and suck your brains out. Almost like the legendary Drop Bears in Earth really."

"You're so full of it." Pidge playfully slapped Hunk's arm and walked out into the hallway, heading to the dining room for breakfast.

"And you love me anyway!" Hunk called after him just as Daniel came out of his own room. Pidge didn't look back, he just waved his hand in a manner that could have been him flipping Hunk a bird, or just swatting a fly. Hunk chuckled to himself and waited for Daniel to approach.

"Tell Keith... Tell him I couldn't find the librarian, but I found the page ripped from the book exactly where were were told it would be." Hunk said under his breath, handing Daniel the flower.

Daniel thought that was a very strange thing to be telling Keith, especially since they didn't actually have a library that contained books with pages that could be torn out let alone a librarian, but he shrugged. "Where are you going?" he asked as Hunk started to walk after Pidge.

"Where do you think?" Hunk grinned back at him. "To get some breakfast of course."

(Insertlinebreakhere)

Keith looked positively exhausted when Daniel found him in the control room staring at the computer screen. Daniel dutifully passed both the flower and the message along on, and took a step back when Keith started cursing and swearing so colourfully and with such venom in his voice that Daniel was worried Keith may strike out at him. But Keith didn't. Instead he continued to swear at the computer for several minutes before he stopped to lean against he desk and buried his face in his hands. "This is driving me mad!" he groaned. "I can't find anyway trace of this creep, it's like he never existed."

"Sort of like... a ninja?" Daniel suggested, not really following what Keith was talking about.

Keith glanced back at Daniel at his comment. "Hmmm..." he started typing again, setting up computer searches that sent the information on the screen scrawling. "Or a team of them." Keith's voltcom lit up with an incoming call. "Go." he answered it.

It was Lance's voice on the other end. "The page is clean. The book is blank."

Keith immediately replied, "The page was found torn from the book and screwed up on the floor. Can't find the librarian."

There was a slight pause before Lance was back on air. "I'll keep looking for her and let her know you wanna chat."

"Aknowledged." Keith signed off muttering to himself "Now all we need is a Ro-beast attack and this day will be perfect." Then he let out a long sigh and turned to observe Daniel. Daniel stood stiff and awkward, not sure if he should be concerned about the scrutiny or not.

"Sir?" he hedged when Keith didn't seem inclined to stop.

"You've been..." Keith's eyes narrowed slightly, and there was a suspicious edge to his voice. "remarkably well behaved over the last few days. Why?"

Daniel looked down at his boots. "It's kind of embarrassing." Daniel admitted after a few aborted starts.

"In what way? And it better not be a Larmina-catching-you-naked type thing."

Daniel blinked at Keith, wondering if something Larmina-related had actually happened to him, and made a mental note to himself to ask her if she had ever seen Keith naked.

"Nothing like that." Daniel assured him. "Just that I hadn't told you. While we were in transit something happened."

"Yeeesss?" Keith drew it out.

"Well... It's just that Pidge and I... talked." Daniel rubbed the back of his head remembering the impact of Pidge's hand there.

"Uh-huh." Keith wasn't convinced.

"With fists." And Daniel told him about the "conversation" Pidge and he had had. By the end of it Keith actually chuckled.

"Good on Pidge."

"This thing is," Daniel said quietly. "I don't think I had ever really realised how serious all this was before. And now..." He looked at the wall. "I'm afraid. I don't think I've ever been afraid before. And... I'm sorry."

Keith stared at him like he had just turned into a penguin with giant pink bunny ears. "Remind me to have Pidge deal with all the deviants from now on." He said to himself.

"Sir?"

Keith shook his head and stood. "Doesn't matter. Come on. Let's get some breakfast."

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Keith and Daniel passed the open ballroom on the way to get some breakfast, and heard Pidge grunt. They poked their heads in through the doorway and found him barefoot in the middle of the the polished floor, running smoothly through some kata moves. Every now and then he would kick or strike and either grunt or ki-ai with it, with each strike having that audible snap from his clothing that came with perfect control. Pidge saw them in the doorway, finished the sequence of moves, then drew his feet together and bowed with his fists at his sides.

"Should you be doing that so soon?" Keith asked when Pidge padded over to them. Daniel noticed there was a flush to Pidge's skin and that he was actually panting. Pidge just shrugged at Keith's question.

"I spent the last few weeks flat on my back and my muscles have wasted." He explained. "I need to get my fitness back."

Keith lay a hand on Pidge's shoulder. "Just don't over do it , ok? I don't want another case of hospitalisation over a strained big toe."

Pidge let out a delighted cackle that continued on into belly laughter which made Daniel wonder if yet again Keith was making references to events that had actually happened. Keith was also grinning. Pidge wiped a tear from his eye. "Don't worry, I'll be extra careful of my toes."

Keith patted his shoulder then looked about the gym. "So where's Hunk?"

Pidge flashed his teeth again. "As if I would part him and his One True Love." Both he and Keith continued to chuckle over that. Pidge turned his eyes to Daniel, smiling with genuine warmth at him. "Come back after breakfast and I'll run through some moves with you, if you want."

Daniel grinned back with excitement. "Thanks!" Then Keith waved goodbye and herded Daniel off towards the dining room so they could eat as well.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Hunk was at the table with Vince and Larmina, and unlike the cadets, was working on shovelling piles of food into his mouth as fast as he could. The cadets were talking quietly to each other, and very casually eating. Keith went straight to the coffee to get a cup, while Daniel helped himself to toast and sat beside the other cadets, telling them all about how Pidge was going to teach him some ninja stuff after breakfast. Larmina just about choked on her orange juice.

"Pidge?" She spluttered incredulously. "Teach? YOU? HA! As if he would. As if you would want him to! He's such a GEEK! Being afraid of the dark. Ha." The table went silent and still as all occupants stared at Larmina.

"Shut up Larmina." Daniel warned her. "You have no idea what you are talking about."

Larmina rolled her eyes at him and took another spoonful of her breakfast. "Oh DO tell, since you are THE font of all knowledge around here."

Daniel glanced at Hunk who had yet to restarted his shovelling again, and who held a dark scowl in Larmina's direction. Keith also had visibly stiffened at her outburst.

"I think you should take yourself back to bed," Vince was the one who spoke up first, much to Daniel's surprise. "before you embarrass your self further. You're obviously so tired you're not thinking straight."

Larmina just scoffed nastily and went on to say some very derogatory things.

"Larmina!" Keith snapped. "Enough!"

Hunk abruptly stood, knocking his chair over in the process. Larmina's eyes widened at the violence held behind his eyes. "I don't care how closely related you are to Allura," Hunk growled out. "you better hope you never find yourself in Pidge's position 'coz I sure won't be helping you." He leaned forward and pointed at her, making her shrink back. "You disgust me." And with that he swept out of the room.

Larmina stared open mouthed after him, then turned to look haughtily at Keith. "Are you going to let him talk to me like that?"

"Yes." Keith hissed at her. "In fact I commend him for his restraint. I suggest you follow Vince's advice and return to your rooms. In fact stay there until further notice. Understood?"

"But-"

"NOW CADET!" Keith roared at her.

Larmina fled the room with tears in her eyes.

After she was gone, Keith sank into a chair opposite the two wide eyed youths who were sitting ram-rod straight in their chairs, and continued drinking his coffee. Wisely, they returned to their breakfasts and remained silent.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Pidge was still in the ballroom when Daniel and Vince had had enough of the tense atmosphere in the mess hall. They wandered in and found Hunk seated with his back pressed against the wall just inside the door, eyes intently fixed upon their lithe team mate. Pidge was running fluidly through forms that were far more advanced than those Daniel had seen before, but didn't seem to have noticed them yet. Hunk gave them a short nod, then turned his attention back to Pidge, making no protest when they sat down to his left.

"He makes it look so easy." Vince whispered in awe.

"You should see him with swords." Hunk replied, a small smile replacing the scowl he had worn just moments before.

"He would so wipe Larmina's butt in combat." Vince said.

Hunk agreed. "Totally."

Daniel said nothing, just continued to watch Pidge's controlled and actually quite beautiful movements, imagining that one day he himself may be able to do the same.

Then Pidge suddenly froze mid spin, stood upright, and slowly turned his head to look behind him. He fell into a defensive combat stance, low to the ground, raising his Voltcom to his face. "Daniel," he spoke to it, making Daniel sit up straight yet confused as to why Pidge would decide to use the voltcom to communicate with him rather than just talk directly. But his blood ran cold as Pidge drew a hand full of live smart stars and continued, "call in all Lions. We have many, Many hostiles."

To be continued...


	6. Flashback

16 September 2012- 18 September 2012

Hacked

by Zuzanny

part 6

(InsertLineBreakHere)

It had felt so good to be moving again, even though it made his heart pound if he went for too long. But he knew he needed to practice, even if he couldn't quite consciously remember how to do it. His body did though, and after relaxing and breathing and calmly moving, his body told him how to do the moves, how to dance, until when he opened his eyes he COULD remember how the katas went. And it felt so good.

And so Pidge danced to the music only he could hear, flowing through each level until it was perfect, before moving on to the next one.

So it was a shock to hear the wiring metal-on-metal sound of compartments in the wall behind him sliding open. He turned to look, seeing hundreds of battle droids literally crawling towards him out of the walls and air ducts like long limbed spiders, their 'eyes' glowing and casting the room a lethal red.

"INTRUDER ALLERT." hundreds of computerised voices called out from all around him. Pidge took a couple steps back as they continued to pour into the room, looking about himself and he bumped into the computer console he had been working at. "INTRUDER ALLERT. TERMINATE." Each droid lifted two long, hose-like limbs, and out of the end of each arm came bladed fingers that separated and fanned out until they were flat, and began to spin faster and faster until they were whirling saws.

Pidge dropped into a low defensive stance and activated his voltcom. "Daniel." He just hoped Daniel could hear him, and that the others would get his message before it was too late. He drew a deep breath and hand full of smart stars from his voltcom in preparation for battle. "Call in the Lions. We have many, Many hostiles." And he flung the stars at the closest bunch of robots, slicing though arms and sensors.

"I'm on my way." Daniel's voice crackled over the line. "The others are over an hour away."

"No!" Pidge leaped into the air and pulled out more stars, throwing again and again mid flight. He landed gracefully back in a low stance, and span to sweep the legs out of the nearest robot, stabbing it's power core with another one of his stars, and flinging more out. "Wait for the others! What ever you do, stay out of here!" He jumped out of the way as high-powered blades came raining down on the spot only just missing him. "If something happens to me," Pidge flung more stars out – all satisfying in their hits - ran, rolled, and grabbed hold of one of the dismembered bladed arms on the floor, swinging it with all his might at the robots closest to him. "Tell Hunk..." He knocked their blades away, and stabbed more power cores, pinning some to the walls around him. "I'll haunt him forever if he breaks my STUFF! YAAGH!" He shouted as he swung the robot arm like a baseball bat, knocking blades away.

"Tell him yourself!" Daniel called back. "I'm coming in!"

"Dammit Daniel!" Pidge yelled. "Stay the hell where you are!" He narrowly dodged getting his throat slashed. "I can't... I can't protect you in here!"

But more robots kept coming, all chanting "INTRUDER ALLERT. TERMINATE."

"You know, that gets really old real quick." Pidge quipped and side kicked sending a bunch falling like dominoes with waving, bladed, tentacles. Pidge leapt another swipe at him, and tossed more smart stars to slice though those arms or pin them to the floor or wall.

"INTRUDER ALLERT. TERMINATE."

"Oh, would you all just shut up!"

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Pidge lost track of how long he had been fighting the robots for, but eventually everyone of them lay in broken – if twitching- pieces on the floor, and he was free to catch his breath and wipe the sweat and grunge from his eyes. His heart pounded in his ears, and he could already feel the chill of the station air eating away what warmth he had raised in that battle. He looked about to make sure all the sparking bits were not able to regenerate or were in any way a threat to him, and raised his arm to his face to contact Daniel, but was interrupted by the sound of someone slowly clapping. He turned sharply to to his right to find a tall and very slender woman standing where no one had been just moments before.

"Who are you?" He called to her, but she did not answer. She had long, white hair that blended in with the skin of her face, and was dressed from the chin down completely in a blood red skin tight suit that looked to have no seams or lines of any kind. Her proportions were slightly out of wack with her arms and fingers being longer than normal, and her mouth split from cheek to cheek. She was smiling with her lips at him while she clapped, every few claps she stepped closer to him. Pidge felt his hair begin to stand on end the closer she came, and found himself backing away from her. Every instinct told him she was far more dangerous than all those death-droids combined.

"Stay where you are!" Pidge ordered as he drew more smart stars and once again dropped into a defensive stance.

Her eye lids lowered slightly over her blood-red eyes, and her lips drew back in a grin that showed off her multitudes of needle-like teeth. In a flash she was right in front of him and had both of his wrists in a crushing grip that had him crying out in pain and dropping his weapons. She leaned in close as though to whisper in his ear, "Well met, delicious one." slid into his mind instead, making him jerk his head back in shock.

"The HELL?" He threw his weight sideways and downwards, turning as he did so, dragging her down with him and kicking out at her ankles, breaking her hold on his wrists. He rolled back to his feet and jumped back just as she swiped out with clawed hands at him, a hungry snarl on her face. He drew some smart stars and held them at the ready. "Back off lady!" he warned her as she climbed to her feet and started tracking him as he moved. "I don't want to have to hurt you!"

That horrid grin returned to her mouth, and he heard laughter in his head. "How delightful! You truly are a treasure. I can't wait to taste you MORE!" Pidge didn't even see her move, but suddenly he was seeing stars as she drove her fist into his stomach so hard the force slammed him into the wall. He fell to the ground, doubled over and gasping for air. He instinctively rolled to the side, avoiding a red-clad leg as she kicked at his ribs, countering with a fistful of smart stars flung directly at...the space she had been only a second before. … but was no longer. He climbed to his feet, urgently gulping down air as he span on the spot, another two handfuls of stars at the ready, seeking his target.She was nowhere to be seen

"Poor little one, tired already?" He heard from all around him and yet nowhere are the same time. "I suppose really I should commend you, very few make it this far. Especially still filled with so much blood."

"Who are you?" Pidge called out still spinning around trying to find her. "What do you want?!"

"Boo." was breathed directly into his ear from behind, and electricity was sent shooting through his body, making his back arch while he stood there helplessly screaming and screaming while she laughed and laughed and laughed.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Pidge's call out to Daniel over the voltcom had brought everyone running to the ballroom, and skidding to a stop when they saw Pidge was in the middle of a highly complicated kata and not under attack. Keith was about to barge over to him and give him a good dressing down for calling false alarms over the voltcom, when Hunk grabbed a hold of his wrist and yanked him to stop.

"Look at him." Hunk insisted in a haunted kind of way. "LOOK at him, dammit!"

And Keith did, narrowly ducking incoming smart stars while doing so.

Lance's colourful language while having to dodge was joined with the cries of the cadets while they ducked for cover. "What the hell is he doing using live weapons in here for?"

"I don't think he's here." Daniel told them, recognising Pidge's half of the conversation being broad cast. "Oh my God. He's back on the station! He's fighting the... what-ever-they-were's!"

"Computer." Keith ordered into his voltcom. "Record the Ballroom. NOW!"

"Are you saying that he's having some kind of flashback?" Princess Allura franticly asked. "We have to snap him out of it before he hurts himself!"

They ran towards Pidge, but were unable to get close enough due to the rain of smart stars. Their cries to him went unnoticed, so they watched helplessly, hoping to ride it out.

After quite a while of ferocious battle, Larmina finally said "He really is... so much better than me." Hunk wasn't the only one who wanted to slap her across the back of the head.

But then it was like a switch had been turned off. Pidge stood panting heavily, red faced and covered in sweat.

Hunk cautiously approached. "You alright there little buddy?"

Pidge's head flashed to his right and he called out "Who are you?" and he began backing away from more invisible foes, again dropping to a defensive stance and pulling out more stars.

Hunk groaned low like his stomach hurt at watching Pidge continue to fight while in obviously such an already exhausted state. "We gotta do something." He called to Keith. "Stun him or something!" Taking the hint, Allura and Lance ran to get the med kit.

"There was more than one set of attackers." Keith said quietly, continuing to watch Pidge dodge and fight around the ball room. Lance and Allura quickly reappeared hauling a large med kit with them and dumping it on the floor. Lance hurriedly rummaged through it, pulling out tranquiliser darts and the gun to match.

"You seriously have that?" Vince shrieked. "As part of our FIRST AID kit?!"

Lance barely glanced at Vince, and loaded the darts into the gun, fiddling with the dosage controls. "How much do you reckon he weighs?"

"I don't know!" Allura called back at him. "A hundred and thirty two pounds?"

"What's that in kilos?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"Sixty will have to do."

But then Pidge was screaming in absolute agony, standing rigid, head flung back, back arched, almost on his tip toes, arms out to his side and spasming like he was being shocked with electricity.

"PIDGE!" Hunk yelled running towards his friend. The screams suddenly cut off, and Pidge dropped like a broken puppet. Hunk dived, sliding across the floor, and caught him just before his head was able to smack against the ground. Hunk curled himself around his smaller friend, cradling him protectively. "Pidge, talk to me little buddy. HOLY SHIT!" Hunk shrieked back at the others. "HIS HEART'S STOPPED!"

To be continued...


	7. Absolutely Drugged to the Gills

Voltron Force and it's characters don't belong to me (that means: I MAKE NO PROFIT!), I am just borrowing the characters to play with them for a while.

20 September 2012 -

Hacked

by Zuzanny

part 7

(Insertlinebreakhere)

The shop owner looked up from the bench as the door chimed, and a tall and rather large man strode in, gazing around the shop with a kind of determined light in his eyes.

"Can I help you, Sir?"

"Yes." The man said. "I need flowers."

The shop owner smiled indulgently. "Well you sure have come to the right place, then. What is the occasion?"

"Near Death Experience."

The shop owner blinked up at the man, and cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Oh. Um. Right. Do you have any particular flowers in mind?"

"No. Not really."

"Okay!" The shop owner said a tad too brightly, "let's take a look shall we?" and she stepped out from behind the counter to show the large man around the display filled with a huge range of all sorts of plant life of all sorts of colours. There were some bunches pre-arranged and set aside in special fridges, as well as tiered shelving displaying stems in water pots. "So are the flowers for friend? Family? Wife? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Love interest?" The man shot her an intense almost-glare at the question. "Understanding the relationship in question can help with the right meaning for the purchase." she explained.

The man turned contemplative. "What are some good flowers to say: you are all that is bright and wonderful in my life and don't you dare die on me you selfish brat?"

(Insertlinebreakhere)

Pidge groaned loudly as his eyes flickered open, then squeezed shut against white light that wanted to stab his brains out his eye sockets, and swatted at the uncomfortable hissing thing that was strapped to his face in an attempt to get it off, and some how even up with it strapped to his forehead instead.

He turned his head to the side and was greeted by a huge bunch of orange gerberas. "You are the sunshine of my life!" they brightly told him.

"Shut up." he replied.

"Oh good, you're awake." It was a nurse by his bedside, checking beeping monitors and other technical things that Pidge really didn't want to know about right then. "How do you feel?" She removed the oxygen mask from his head and turned it off at the wall.

"Like I've been stepped on my a robeast." He groaned.

"Not quite." She told him. "Do you know what happened?"

Pidge thought for a few moments, there were so many possible explanations for being injured. "Was I... in a fight? Are the others okay?" he started to cough, and curled up with the pain slicing though his chest. "Oh God, that hurts."

The nurse helped him brace a pillow to his chest so that he could cough with a bit of comfort. Once he had finished coughing and settled back to breathing, the nurse injected something into an IV port, then continued speaking, "Chest compressions can take a while to heal from. I do believe you had some fractured ribs. You may not feel like it right now, but you are very lucky to be alive right now."

Pidge blinked at her with confusion as the pain sliding through his chest started to fade into blissful sunshine rainbows. "Why would I need chest compressions?" He could hear his words starting to slur. "Did I drown or something?" He didn't remember being anywhere near beds of water, but he supposed a sudden cut of life support could have also done it. He looked down at his fingers to check if they were blue or black, and suddenly giggled at all the other colours that were starting to swirl from his finger tips. "I'm not wearing my glasses, am I?" He looked up at the nurse, who may have said something to him, but he just grinned at her and the colours dancing around her face. The whole world looked like it wanted to dance. It made him feel happy watching it sway to the music like long grass in the wind. He settled back into the pillows to watch, and hummed along with the tune, smiling while his eyes slowly slid closed.

Not too long after this Hunk walked the hospital hallway, passed the nurse talking hurriedly with a doctor, and entered the room to find Pidge smiling and humming a happy tune with his eyes closed.

"Pidge, are you awake?" Hunk asked, lowering himself into the chair beside the bed.

"Mngh... Maybe." Pidge didn't open his eyes, but he did smile in a very pleased manner.

"Good. Coz I wanna talk with you. It's serious. I... I'm... I'm just going to come out and say it, okay? You really scared me, you know. I don't like the thought of you dying, and I like you actually dying far less. It's got me thinking about things. And. Pidge? I don't want you out of my life ever, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay. Pidge... Would it be okay if I courted you?"

Pidge was silent for a few moments, and Hunk wasn't sure if he had fallen to sleep or not. "Sure..." Pidge eventually said. "why not?" then he promptly began snoring softly.

Hunk was delighted and terrified at the same time. He discretely looked around himself, and then slowly reached a hand forward to gently clasp Pidge's hand. Again, he darted his eye about to make sure no one was watching, then he lifted Pidge's hand to his lips and gave it a quick kiss. Another quick turn of his head satisfied Hunk that no one had been watching, and he placed Pidge's hand under the blankets where it was warm. The room had suddenly gotten very cold. Hunk thought he had better go talk to the technicians about better climate control, and so he did.

By the time he later returned to Pidge's beside, someone had added a yellow rose, a yellow hyacinth and a marygold to the bunch of orange flowers he had brought earlier. But Hunk was too busy staring happily at Pidge's face, waiting for him to wake up again, to even notice.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

"What did I tell you about overdoing it?" Keith gently chided him.

"But my toes are fine." Pidge wheezed with a smile. "It's only my ribs that are cracked."

"Yeah, sorry about that by the way." Hunk said sheepishly.

Pidged rolled his head drunkedly towards Hunk. He found it amazing what pain killers could do, even if they did mess with his head. "I'm fine. The doctors said that my heart and lungs are all healed up, and I just have to take it easy while my ribs finish setting. I'm fine. I'm alive, Hunk. Thanks to you."

Hunk blushed, and ducked his head sheepishly.

"Do the doctors know why it happened?" Keith asked.

Pidge shrugged. "They said that there was no physical problem with my heart, and the best guess they have is that I had an ectopic beat land on a T wave which sent me into VT then VF."

Both Hunk and Keith blinked at him. "So it had nothing to do with you tossing live smart stars and running around like you were being attacked?" Hunk asked.

"What?" Pidge cocked his head to the side, this time he was the one confused.

"Daniel said..." Keith paused, wondering how he should word it, but then shrugged. "You were acting out when you were attacked. Do you remember that at all?"

Pidge shook his head. "No. And it's really weird that I don't."

"Possible PSTD stuff." Keith waved him off. "Best we can tell you were attacked in two waves. First was with huge numbers. Possibly droids of some kind."

Pidge's eyes went unfocused as he tried to remember.

"You defeated all them." Keith added. That made Pidge smile with satisfaction. "But then... some thing or someone else was there. We think that the second set was what took you down."

Again Pidge's eyes went glassy as he sent his mind back.

"It's got all the cadets freaked out." Hunk said. "About bloody time if you ask me. They all have had terrible attitudes from the start."

"Hunk," Keith said with a warning tone. "we already discussed this. We need replacements just in case one of us gets taken out. Look what has happened to Pidge. If Voltron was needed right now..." He trailed off.

Hunk started arguing, but Pidge laid a hand on Hunk's much larger and hairier arm, which stopped all the noise. "Keith's right." Pidge said quietly. "Piloting with cracked ribs is dangerous under normal conditions. I don't really want to stay in hospital any moment longer than necessary. Vince has been training well in Green." He then looked up to Keith. "And Hunk is also right. The cadets all have terrible attitudes. I wonder if just taking on three was the best way to do it? There are FIVE lions, Keith. Surely there are more candidates for pilots? We really need a squadron, not just three cadets."

Keith's mouth turned up a slight smile at the corner. "Who's going to train them all? We're lucky we've had no attacks over the last few days, but it's just a matter of time."

"Exactly!" Pidge rubbed sleep out of his eyes. "And if any one of you get taken down before I am back in Green, it will have to be either Larmina or Daniel who replace you."

Both men cringed.

"Daniel HAS been behaving better since you had a little 'chat' with him." Keith admitted slowly.

"Larmina's a bitch." Hunk said vehemently. "I want her out on her arse."

Pidge just stared at him agast. "What the HELL have I missed out on?"

Hunk glared into the air. "Lets just say she opened her mouth one too many times."

"So, Pidge..." Keith said in a manner that spelled something smug and sinister and something that spoke of practical jokes and which made Pidge highly suspicious.

"Hmmm?" Pidge raised his eye brows in wait.

"If I were to, say, organise a whole squadron of cadets to train, would you be up to the job?"

"Not right this second." He replied. "But maybe later. When I can breath without all these wonderful pain killers painting colours over my eyes."

"Excellent!" Keith slapped his knee and then went to stand.

"You do realise I am highly drugged at the moment, right?" Pidge said.

Keith just grinned and waved as he left the room.

Pidge turned his head back to Hunk. "He does know that, right?"

Hunk shrugged and shifted closer to the bed. "What does being highly drugged at the moment mean for you?" There was an almost teasing tone to Hunk's question.

Pidge blinked and tilted his head slightly. "It means you are very... orange... at the moment."

"Huh. I would have thought I'd be more yellow, since I wear that all the time."

"No, I mean." Pidge frowned trying to collect his thoughts. He looked down his his hands. "My hands turn pink then purple then green, and sway like an ocean. And you..." He started singing "Oranges and lemons, the bells of saint clemons, I owe you a favour, when shall I pay you-"

"I get it," Hunk interrupted. "So you're tripping right now."

Pidge grinned up at him. "Tripping. I like that word. Tripping. Trrriiiipping. Trip-ping." And he giggled like a little kid.

"Yep." Hunk nodded. "Definitely tripping." He reached over and ran his hand through Pidge's hair affectionately. Pidge's eyes shuttered closed, and he leaned into the touch.

"I like it when you do that." Pidge purred. "Feels nice."

"I know. Keep your eyes closed and try to sleep."

"Don' wanna." Pidge whined. "They wont stop talking to me. It's annoying and makes it hard to sleep."

Hunk's hand froze for a second before he continued to massage Pidge's scalp. "Who, the medicos? They're just doing their job."

"No," Pidge yawned. "the woman... and the..." He finished with a soft snore.

Hunk continued stroking for a few moments before pulling his hand away. He made sure Pidge was tucked in, then left to find Keith.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Both Hunk and Keith ended up in a little interview room with one of the doctors dealing with Pidge. The doctor had laid the data board on the table in front of himself and had finished flicking through some test results.

"The only reason I am even discussing this with you is because you are listed on his emergency contacts." the doctor told them.

"What do the results say?" Keith asked.

The doctor leaned forward over the data board, steepling his hands together. "The results are positive."

Hunk swore, and Keith just wanted to throw something across the room.

"The question is," the doctor continued. "What now?"

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Pidge was drifting, almost to the state of actual sleep when he heard it, quiet, faint like someone whispering in his ear. "May-day!" She said urgently despite the softness, sending his heart rocketing with adrenaline. "May-day! Can anyone hear me?" Pidge's eyes snapped open to his darkened room. He sat up, head tilted to the side, listening for any sound, willing his heart to quieten. Just when he was almost asleep again, the call returned. "May-day! May-day!"

Pidge threw the blankets off himself, and clumsily rolled out of bed. The polished floor was cold under his bare feet, and the icy air made his skin pimple and shiver. He staggered to the door, dragging beeping monitoring equipment behind him, and leaned heavily on the frame while looking around the hospital halls and trying to find the source of the distress call.

The halls were lit only with the after hours lights, and the few nurses that were on duty did not seem at all concerned about a distress call being sounded. Pidge bit his lip trying to decide what to do.

"What are you doing out of bed?" A smiling nurse asked from his side. Pidge blinked up at the woman. He had not noticed her approaching. He didn't like that. But she didn't immediately try to force him to do anything he didn't want, so he decided he could answer her question.

"I heard some one calling for help." He said.

She nodded. "That happens a lot in the hospital, especially when they get older. They forget to use the buzzers."

Pidge blinked at her, not at all comprehending what she was talking about. "A distress call." He clarified.

She patted him on the arm and started ushering him back inside his room. "I think either it was the viewer in the next room, or you were dreaming." She told him, then helped him get back into bed.

There were Heartseas and Pansys in a pot on the window sill.

To be continued...

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Flower Meanings:

Heartseas and Pansy – You occupy my thoughts

Yellow Hyacinth- Jealousy

French Marygold- Cruelty, Grief, Jealousy

Yellow rose- Decrease of Love, Jealousy, Try to Care

*website link* and The Language of Flowers book from chapter 1.


	8. Chip

15 - 19 October 2012  
Hacked  
by Zuzanny

Part 8

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Chip looked up from the multitudes of readings and waveforms on the screen in front of him as there was a ping from his inbox. He frowned, wondering if he could ignore the message while he finished with what he was already doing. It WAS flagged Urgent, but often the messages he received were flagged as Urgent when really they were just Needing Attention and could easily be put into his When I Get Around To It folder. Deciding that this was most likely just another one of those, he turned his eyes away from it and returned to what he was working on.

Another message pinged, flagged as Urgent. Chip bit his lip, took his hands away from the display board in front of him, and shifted the chair back away from the desk while he considered.

Another message. Again Urgent. That was three in less than five minutes. A feeling, almost like hundreds of spiders, crawled up and down his spine, and sent his heart pumping just a tad faster than he liked. Chip adjusted his glasses.

Another message. Urgent.

With his skin pimpling, hair starting to stand on end, Chip reached out and tapped the screen to bring the message list up.

Commander Keith, Princess Allura, Hunk, then last of all Lance. They had all sent him messages. But none from Pidge. Chip felt like his fingers were about to go numb as he tapped on the first message from Keith.

"Chip. This is Commander Keith Kogane of Voltron Force, Black Lion." It was just voice message, he was obviously too far away to leave vid as well. Chip could hear the pause as Keith took a deep breath, as though he was trying to think what was best to say next. "Your brother Pidge has been injured while conducting his duties. I don't yet know the full extent of the injuries, but he is being treated at Auras Main Central, and is currently in an induced coma." Again Keith paused and took a shaky breath. "Chip... please come as soon as you can." the message ended, but Chip heard the unspoken "you are his family and there may be decisions that only you can make".

Chip took in a deep breath of his own and selected the message from Allura.

"Hello Chip," Again her message was just voice. "this is Princess Allura of Arus, Voltron Force Blue Lion pilot. While executing his routine and peaceful duties, your brother Pidge was badly injured. We are investigating the circumstances, and will inform you of all findings and conclusions. Currently it appears that Pidge was attacked by many-but-unknown forces which he fought hand to hand combat style in an enclosed space. He was separated from the rest of our Force, and while we arrived as fast as we could, he was exposed to virtually no life support during the wait." She also took a deep, steadying breath. "While we are listed as emergency contacts, we request your presence as Next of Kin-"

Chip skipped to Hunk's message.

"Hey little buddy." Chip almost smiled at Hunk's voice. Good old Hunk. "Pidge's hurt. It looks bad. You better come. Just in case." That was it.

"Hey Kid." That was Lance. "I don't know if anyone's contacted you yet. Hell, this really should be done by Keith or Allura and if they haven't already let me know and I'll kick their asses. But. Kid. Pidge has been roughed up pretty bad. He still has all his limbs and stuff like that, but he's just... If he ever wakes up again I think he'd really like to see you. And, well... Just... I think you better come. Hope to see you soon, Kid."

Chip sat back in his chair in shock, and picked up his com unit, the readings he had been dealing with all forgotten. He looked at dates of the messages. Over a month ago. "What the hell?" He whispered. "Why did they only come now?"

Ping! Another message.

Ping! Another.

Pingpingpingpingping...

Hundreds of messages suddenly began filling his inbox. Chip jumped to his feet, knocking the chair over and dialed a number from memory, waiting for connection as his inbox continued to fill with pinging messages.

"Hi, you've called Pidge. I'm probably out saving the universe right now. Leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!" Came the recorded message. Chip hung up without saying anything and dialed another number.

"Come on, come on!" He ground out while it rang. Finally there was a click as an audio only connection was made."Do ya have any idea what freaking time it is?" Hunk ground into the line. "This better be good."

"Hunk!" Chip yelped at him. "What the hell is going on? I can't get through to Pidge."There was a pause. "Is that you Chip? We've been trying to contact you for ages. Why haven't you been returning our messages?"

"I only just got them now!" Chip continued to stare as his inbox was still pinging away with a couple hundred messages already. "And... I think they are still coming! Is Pidge okay, or what? What's happened?"

Hunk made a noise like he was rubbing sleep out of his face. "Kinda. Bout a month ago he was attacked and messed up. Nasty mess. He got... hacked, Chip."

Chip gasped in horror. "No!"

"It's worse."

"How can it be worse?" Chip sunk to the ground, then leaned forward to fiddle with his computer, bringing up a page for bookings and flights off world.

"It... it just is. He's alive! And he's talking and stuff. But... but... it... I just... I can't really talk about it on the waves. Just... get here ASAP, okay?"

"I'm catching the next flight there. Is he still at Auras Central?"

"Yeah, for the moment. We'll see you when you get here. Travel safely, kay little buddy?"

"I will." They hung up.

The messages finally finished arriving. Chip scrolled through them until he found one from just a couple days ago, from Pidge himself. Chip opened it. It was a vid message, and it looked like it was filmed from inside Pidge's own room in the castle. It was dark, and the light from the screen cast his brother in an eerie light, the circles under his eyes were dark and his short hair was messy. "Chip," Pidge's voice was shaky. "Sorry to bother you at this time of the night but... I need you to let me know you are okay? I just saw our planet destroyed. They all tell me it was a nightmare and you are okay, but right now... Everything is so messed up in my head right now. I got..." Pidge covered his face in his hands and shuddered as he spoke. "hacked." He looked back as the screen. "The doctors all say that I'll most likely be fine. But I wonder... I mean, what if they DID something in my head, you know? I feel like I'm this walking time bomb just waiting for the right moment to go off. I don't know how to deal with this right now. I really wish you were here." Pidge sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I'm sorry to bother you with this. I feel so stupid. I'll talk to you later." And he reached out to end the message, but then froze in position, eyes going glassy and unfocussed, his face slack. There was movement in the background, like a shadow, but darker amongst the shadows. Then a long, blood-red arm with abnormally long fingers reached around Pidge's frozen form and purposefully placed an Ox- eyed daisy on the desk in front of the monitor before retreating. Pidge slowly rose from his seat and walked out of view of the screen. The message ended, leaving Chip staring at the screen with something akin to horror.

He played it again and hit pause. He didn't know why, but he thought he recognised that arm... And it terrified him.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

"What do you MEAN, I'm grounded?" Chip boiled inside trying to contain his fury at this situation and his terror for his brother. The air/flight control officer just shrugged it off like he was used to being yelled at by stressed out family members, and pointed to his data pad.

"I'm sorry sir," The worker recited, lines obviously well used and not at all felt. "my orders are to keep you here until your back up arrives."

"Back up?!" Chip felt like throwing the man across the room. Unfortunately, the worker would also be a ninja and therefore know how to either defend himself or just avoid the toss. "WHAT back up?!" Chip hissed at him instead. "I don't HAVE any back up, thank you very much!"

"Yes you do." It was called from the side of the room where an older man with peppered hair and beard and a team of about ten other older ninjas strode in to stand by Chip.

Chip stared at these people – all fellows from his section of the Balto Institute of History and Reconstruction – all of them dressed in full ninja battle armor. "What the hell?" Chip breathed, then quickly bowed low to show his respect. "Grand Master Steiner! What-"

"I came to your apartment to talk to you about some of the archives." The Grand Master said. "You left everything open, unlocked and unsecured, my young friend."

Chip was incredibly embarrassed. He wanted to sink through the floor and disappear.

"Which was just as well," The Grand Master continued. "or I would not have seen what you are planning on running head first into." Those wise older eyes ran over him, and a slight disproving turn came to his lips. "With no weapons or containment unit, I might add."

"Why would I need a containment unit?"

"Two, actually. WE will need two."

Chip looked at the other ninjas and saw that they were indeed carting along two heavy, dull grey stone jars. He blinked at the jars, not at all comprehending how these could be containment units for anything other than food.

Grand Master Steiner lay a firm yet gentle hand upon Chip's shoulder and quietly asked with seriousness "Have you entered a cycle yet?"

Chip immediately blushed bright red and turned his eyes away. "I don't know why that's impor-"

"Because it IS important." The grand master told him, and waited.

Chip looked at his feet, still bright red. "...Yes."

"Have you partnered with anyone yet?"

"No." It was quietly said. "I was hoping to wait."

Steiner nodded with understanding. "Then you will not be leaving here with out us to guard you. You must trust me on this. Right now you are vulnerable in a way that I hope you will never truly understand, and I fear your twin may already have fallen victim to."

(InsterLineBreakHere)

In the darkness of the late night, Hunk sat on a chair in the corner of Pidge's hospital room, chin resting on his folded hands, staring intently at the form tossing and turning in the bed in the midst of another nightmare.

"Nnghh... no..." Pidge pleaded desperately with tears streaming down his face. "Please... Leave Chip alone..."

To be continued...


	9. The Nightmare, The Lord

24 October 2012- 09 November 2012AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the middle of writing this chapter, I had a major change in motive for the Nasties (TM) which has thrown a spanner in the plot. So that is one reason why things are taking a while to write now. Sorry.

Hacked  
by Zuzanny

part 9

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Pidge was trapped, chained against the wall, surrounded by darkness so thick he could feel it oozing over his skin. His entire body throbbed with pain from the beatings he had taken during capture, and all his struggles to escape the chains ended up cutting into his own flesh. The splayed position made it hard to breath, and he had to keep shifting on his tip toes in order to get his lungs to work, but then he would weaken and fall which would then cause the manacles to cut deeper into his wrists. His blood was still dripping from the wounds, warm where it splattered and pooled upon him. His right eye was swollen and glued shut with his own blood.

"Tell ussss..." The voices hissed in his ears. "Tell ussss... tell usss!"

"No!" His throat was dry, voice cracking from screaming.

The shadows around him shifted, and he blinked as some light was shone across to floor in front of the wall opposite him revealing a pair of familiar boots belonging to someone hanging, silent and still, in the darkness there.

"Tell ussss..." The voices insisted. "Or we will start carving into This one."

Pidge breathed quickly, almost to the point of hyperventilating, but ground his teeth and with determination said "No."

"No?" They purred with amusement. Pidge did his best to glare at them through the darkness. "Have you no compassion for your fellows?"

There was a noise, a grunt of pain from the other prisoner, in a voice that Pidge recognised. It made his heart pound with despair and tears come to his eyes. He held his breath and turned his head away, yanking again at shackles holding his wrists, almost not caring if he lost his thumbs if it meant he could escape. More pained sounds came from the other wall.

"Tell usss..." The voices insisted again. "While there are still pieces of this one to save."

Pidge tried to block the cries out by shaking his head, refusing to speak.

Then came a gut wrenching scream that faded into pained whimpers. "Please... Pidge..." Chip's voice broke as he begged. "Help me..."

Pidge remained silent.

"You want your brother with you, yesss?" The voice was back in Pidge's ear. Then a wet, warm-but-cooling finger ran down his face. "Here is a piece of him to keep you company."

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Hunk expected Pidge to wake up screaming again, but he didn't. Instead Pidge just thrashed about moaning, begging for Chip to be set free, and telling who-know's-who "No! No!" over and over again. After some time of this, Hunk gave up his chair in the corner and lay down to spoon behind him, running gentle fingers up and down Pidge's arm in an attempt to soothe him. Eventually Pidge sobbed out "I'm so sorry Chip." and burst into tears. Hunk wrapped his arms securely around Pidge, whispering and rocking until he stopped sobbing, calming to whimpers and spasmodic breathing instead.

"You alright?" Hunk whispered when he felt Pidge was awake.

Pidge shook his head vehemently.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Again that frantic head shaking. Then Pidge surged up out of his arms and ran to the ensuit bathroom, ripping all monitoring equipment off in his haste. Hunk only just had his feet touching the cold lino floor when the liquid sounds of vomiting emanated from the tiny room. He padded into the bathroom, picked up a face washer and ran it under the cool tap water before squatting down behind Pidge. Pidge's face was almost submerged in the bowl of the toilet while he gagged and vomited. Hunk had to take a few steadying breaths so that he didn't go off in sympathy, and placed the cool cloth against the back of Pidge's neck. A nurse came running in response to all the alarms going off, but Hunk was able to send her away telling her that he would take care of Pidge. She turned off the alarming equipment as she left.

After a few minutes, Pidge sat back, leaning against Hulk's body, panting tiredly. Hulk used the cloth to wipe the seat and tears from Pidge's pale face, waiting silently. "I had been captured." Pidge whispered, eyes closed. "So had Chip, but I didn't know that until later when they started to..." He drew in a shuddering breath. "when they started to cut him up. They were questioning me, wanting me to tell them." Pidge went silent again.

"What did they want you to tell them?" Hunk prompted.

"I don't know." Pidge turned in Hunk's lap, looking up with haunted eyes. "They didn't say."

(InsertLineBreakHere)

"I want to go home." Pidge sullenly told the nurse. "I don't want to be here any longer. I want to go home."

"I would rather you wait until the doctor clears you to leave." Pidge turned to stare at Hunk with something akin to betrayal. Hunk shrugged it off. "You puked this morning." He said like that explained everything.

"That was just a reaction to the pain meds." Pidge snapped. "It always happens. It's even documented in my history." Hunk raised an eye brow in a manner that suggested he was not entirely convinced. "It IS!"

"Suuure."

"Look," The nurse interrupted seeing how ready Pide was to launch himself at Hunk - she didn't care if it were play fighting or not. "The doctor HAS cleared you to leave, but only on light duty. No heavy lifting, running and NO flying, do you hear?"

Pidge jumped off of the end of the bed with excitement, dancing around cheering for a few moments before his ribs let him know they were still rather tender. He flashed a sheepish grin at the nurse who sighed, and handed over the required discharge documents.

"If I find you back in hospital again for doing something stupid, young man, I will smack you. Repeatedly. On your backside." She threatened with stern affection.

Pidge grinned cheekily. "Promise?"

"Oh, get out of here, you!"

(InsertLineBreakHere)"I'm really not comfortable with this." Hunk said once he had made sure Pidge and all his stuff was back in his own room in the castle.

"Aw, come on, Hunk." Pidge whined finishing putting the bunch Hunk's gerberas in a vase by his bedside. "I'm fine. Sure I was sick this morning, but that was just this morning and the meds. They always mess me up. You'll see. I'm fine. Now, I want to go check my Lion just in case Daniel and Vince have managed to break anything while I have been away. Again."

Hunk swung out an arm to block Pidge's path through the door, his big hand planted against Pidge's chest. Although it was a gentle pressure, it was still enough to make Pidge visibly grimace in pain. "Uh-uh." Hunk tisked. "Doc said light duties only. 'No lifting anything heavier than a carton of milk' he said, so light duties you are getting. And don't even THINK about trying to flip me right now, not unless you want me to take you right back to the emergency room and sit on you."

Pidge pouted and did A Thing(TM) with his eyes that made them go wide and pleading and cute and made Hunk's heart want to melt. "Pleeeeease?"

Hunk very deliberately Ignored The Cuteness, and crossed his arms. "No."

"Aw, come on Hunk, I'll be good," Pidge whined some more like a little kid wanting a pony. "I promise I just want to check my Lion. I wont throw Daniel across the room this time... Unless I find out he's taken Midonjishi to Doom again, then I will kick his ass."

Hunk remained unmoved, only raising one eyebrow.

"Alright. YOU can kick his ass."

"That's better." Hunk grinned, and with an 'after you' motion of his arms, ushered Pidge out of his room. Then placing his hand gently at the small of Pidge's back, Hunk escorted him down the hall and deeper into the castle.

"Mayday..." Came the whisper.

Pidge froze mid stride, and looked back down the direction they had just come from. Hunk nudged him forward, turning slightly to look down at him with an inquiring expression. "What is it, Little Buddy?"

Pidge tilted his head to the side, straining to hear. The hall was silent except the hum of electrical undercurrent that was present in all the more modern sections of the castle. Pidge shook his head. "Nothing. Just thought I heard something. Let's go."

(InsertLineBreakHere)"I so hate this crap." Lance complained out loud while staring at the monitors, and ignoring the news reporter on one of the screens who was droning an about the Perfect Weather, and the Perfectly Happy soft, fluffy-bunny happenings on the planet right then. Daniel and Vince turned their heads to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Vince asked.

"It's too bloody quiet!" Lance looked like he was about to pull his hair out. "I HATE it when it's quiet like this!"

"But wouldn't that mean you get to relax more?"

Lance span and pointed at the cadet. "Ah! You would think so, wouldn't you? But no! One thing you will learn, kids, is that too much quiet means bad things are brewing. Now I don't mind blowing up the bad things when they hit, but I really hate having to wait around for them!"

That was when Pidge's image popped up on the screen. "Daniel!" He growled out. Daniel squeaked, and dove under the desk in a poor attempt to hide. "AND Vince!" Vince straightened in his chair, and plastered a falsely-innocent smile on his face.

"Uh, Hi Pidge!" Vince chirped brightly. "Glad you're back."

Pidge's eyes narrowed. "You two better get down here NOW!" The image turned off.

"We are so dead." Daniel moaned from under the desk. "Do we have to go?"

"You heard the man." Lance said and waved them out the door. "Better be quick about it too, or you may have to do more than scrub latrines for the rest of the day."

"I so knew it was a stupid idea." Vince's voice drifted back into the room after they left. "Why do I keep letting you talk me into these things?"

Lance reclined back in his chair, a very satisfied grin on his face.

(InsertLineBreakHere)To say that Pidge had been angry had been an understatement. The level of absolute pissed-off-ness had not only taken himself by surprise, but Hunk as well. "It's just a scratch." Hunk admonished him.

"Just a SCRATCH?" Pidge had shrieked and pulled out a fist full of smart stars. "JUST! A! SCRATCH?! I'm going to give THEM a SCRATCh and see how they like it! I'm going to freaking KILL THEM!" That was when Hunk snatched Pidge up, arms wrapped tightly trapping Pidge's arms by his side, and lifting the squirming ball of viscious anger off his feet.

"I think you need a time out." Hunk said, carrying a still struggling and snarling Pidge out of the bay, and leaving Daniel and Vince standing there quaking with terror and dread.

"I'll keep first watch tonight." Daniel whispered.

"A lot of good that will do." Vince replied. "I really don't want to die!"

(InsertLineBreakHere)Hunk dumped Pidge on his bed, and bodily pinned him there when Pidge tried to jump back off it to run back to the bay and attack the cadets. "It's time for you to calm down." Hunk said soothingly.

"LIKE HELL I WILL!" Pidge shrieked, arching up and trying to knock Hunk off. Hunk stayed firm, hands pinning Pidge's arms to the matrice. "I'm sick of them stuffing around with the Lions!"

"I know." Hunk said.

"They have no right to take the Lions out joy riding!"

"I know." Hunk said again, agreeing.

"I had just finished applying that new paint job! And now Midonjishi has a scratch! A. FREAKING. SCRATCH! The size of my FIST GOING THROUGH THEIR CHESTS!"

"I think they side swiped a carrier van. Carrying weapons. To bad guys."

Pidge glared up at Hunk, but stilled his struggles. "Not helping, Hunk. So not helping."

Hunk shrugged, and sat back so that he was only pinning Pidge by straddling his hips. "I think you are far more worked up about it than is good for you." Hunk said slowly. "I want you to take some of your sleepers."

"I hate them." Pidge complained petulantly.

"I know. Will you take some?"

Pidge huffed, then closed his eyes and sighed. "Yeah." He said quietly. "I think I've twinged my ribs again."

"Alright." Hunk reached over to the bedside table and retrieved the pills and the waiting glass of water. He stayed straddling Pidge even while he sat up to take his meds, only getting off once he was sure Pidge had actually swallowed them.

"You just want me unconscious so you can have your wicked way with me." Pidge snarked when lying back down.

Hunk shot him a sly grin. "Of course."

Pidge snorted with some amusement, and rolled his eyes. "Riiiight."

"Don't worry," Hunk sat on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers through Pidge's hair in the way that he knew made Pidge purr with pleasure. "I'll find something nasty enough to pay them back with."

"You better."

"Oh, I will." Hunk kept moving his fingers through Pidge's hair.

"Mmm..." Pidge said letting his eyes flutter closed. "That's really nice." This his eyes snapped open, a panicked blush staining his cheeks. "I mean-"

"It's alright." Hunk chuckled, continuing with his stroking. "I don't mind that you like this."

Pidge stared up at him with wide eyes. "You... don't?" He squeaked.

Hunk shook his head. "Not at all." It was a purr of his own.

"Oh. Okay." Pidge bit his lip for a few moments, then purposefully closed his eyes, letting Hunk work his magic. "I'm sorry." Pidge said after a few moments. "I was really over the top earlier."

"Yep."

"I don't know what got into me." Pidge frowned, keeping his eyes closed. "I'm not normally so angry over something like that. It's... strange."

"Nothing I can't handle."

"But you shouldn't HAVE to. Do you think... it may be from my..." Pidge swallowed and then whispered "hacking?"

"I suppose it is possible." Hunk replied slowly. "Could be other reasons too."

Again Pidge's eyes snapped open. "Hunk," he urgently said. "I need you to promise me that you wont let me do any thing bad to the others, that you would stop me before I do anything!"

Hunk snorted.

"I'm serious!"

"Pidge," Hunk spoke like he was an idiot child. "if you really got it into your head to do some damage, there would be nothing I could do to stop you. BUT!" Hunk interrupted the distressed noise Pidge made. "I know you would never do that. To anyone. So stop worrying about it." And he cut Pidge off again. "BUT. If I find you are trending towards becoming our next Evil Overlord, I'll let you know. With my fists."

"Thanks Hunk." Pidge finally smiled up at him.

"Now shut up and let me help you relax."

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Pidge was trapped, chained against the wall, surrounded by darkness so thick he could feel it oozing over his skin. His entire body throbbed with pain from the beatings he had taken during capture, and all his struggles to escape the chains ended up cutting into his own flesh. The splayed position made it hard to breath, and he had to keep shifting on his tip toes in order to get his lungs to work, but then he would weaken and fall which would then cause the manacles to cut deeper into his wrists. His blood was still dripping from the wounds, warm where it splattered and pooled upon him. His right eye was swollen and glued shut with his own blood.

"Tell ussss..." The voices hissed in his ears. "Tell ussss... tell usss!"

"Tell you what?" Pidge croaked out, his voice cracking from screaming.

"Who." They hissed.

Pidge took in a shuddering breath, and felt his voice answering.

"Is that so?" The voices hissed a with dangerous curiosity, the shadows shifting as though caressing his face.

"Yes." Pidge breathed.

There was silence for a few moment, the oily shadows paused their motions, and the world shifted.

All pain was gone and his thoughts scattered. It was almost like he was built into the stone walls of the dark room, voiceless and unable to move just like a rock. He watched as a figure fell out of the air about a meter from the floor, and landed with a wet smack on the stone floor in the middle of the room. Pidge thought he recognised this person, but it was hard to concentrate, and the blood that covered his face obscured his features. Then SHE appeared, and Pidge felt his heart pound.

"Who are you?" The huddled figure choked out in terror, unable to even shrink away because of all the broken bones She had given him.

She leaned closer to the figure, lips parted with a shark-like grin, the needle-points of her teeth showing off the remnants of another's blood. "I am Bloody Vengeance." Her voice was audible, even though Pidge knew it was sliding through his mind instead. "I am Horror, I am Madness, I am Death." She towered over the figure who could do nothing but stare up into her swirling, blood-red eyes. She leaned down close as though to whisper into his ear and opened her mouth wide.

"Akashingai." The snapped word made her pause, lean back, and then stand.

"My Lord." She bowed deeply to the pillar of shadows that formed into the shape of a very tall man, deepest black up to his chin in the same manner as the woman was red, and eyes of darkness that shifted on their own. Just like the Woman, his arms and fingers were longer than normal proportions, and his face was pale, hair white and hanging long down his back. This dark man walked regally, head held high, eyes looking contemptuously at the crumpled and broken figure at the woman's feet. Slowly, with majestic grace, this man lowered himself to be seated beside the battered one. Long black fingers grasped the broken jaw and turned the head to look into black eyes.

"You call yourself a king?" The dark man's hiss was audible, but sliding into Pidge's head just like the woman's did, intimate and terrible and making Pidge want to squirm. The broken figure quivered in true terror, his own voice came out in pitiful whimpers. "You DARED destroy MY planet?" The dark man grinned, his needle-like teeth glinting pure white in what little light there was "YOU are NOTHING to me. Your planet is nothing to me." The dark man told the figure, then turned to look directly at Pidge with a chilling smile. "But for my beloved, your death will make a fine dowery."

The dark man twisted the head in his hands sharply. There was a loud crack, and Lotor was dead.

Pidge woke up gasping.

To be continued...

Midonjishi is the Japanese word for Green Lion.Aka Shingai - red terror


	10. Baltons Are WHAT? Movie Time

24 October 2012- 13 November 2012

Hacked

by Zuzanny

 

part 10

(InsertLineBreakHere)

"You know the story of the original Balto's colonization?" Grand Master Steiner asked, reclining into his comfortable chair of the transport ship

"Of course." Chip nodded from opposite him. "We all do. 'The Ninja, the Scientist and the Demon'. It's one of the first stories told to us as children."

The Grand Master leaned back in his chair and smiled indulgently while shaking his head. "Children's stories," He murmured. "What would you say if I told you they were not stories. That they are watered down versions of actual events? And that there was not just one 'Demon', but many?"

Chip looked around at the very serious expressions of the older ninjas seated around him, then back at the Grand Master. "I would say, Sir," He paused to gather his thoughts. "that with all the things I have seen in my life, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest."

The Grand Master smiled, pleased.

"Is that what the stone jars are for?" Chip inclined his head towards the jars in question that had each been strapped into a chair of their own. "Do you think Pidge has been possessed by demons?"

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Pidge sat on the floor of his room with his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees, controlling his breathing to slow down his speeding heart rate. "It's just a dream." He told himself. "Really freaking weird dream, but just a dream." Once his heart had slowed enough, he opened his eyes and slowly rolled to his feet. It was still bright outside. He hadn't slept too long then. "I better go apologise to Vince and Daniel for going ballistic at them." he said to himself, then paused at the door as he saw something out the corner of his eye. He turned to look. A single, blood-red rose bud stood on his bench, long stem straight and covered with thorns, a single leaf sticking out near the bud. It stood upright with nothing to hold it that way. Pidge shuddered as he felt hair-raising ice run down his spine, and ran from the room.

After a few twists and turns of the corridors, Pidge slowed down to a brisk walk, ignoring his twinging ribs, and forcefully shook out his fright. "Okay, that was not something to be creeped out over." He cajoled himself. "It was just a rose. Standing. In... a vase... that I just couldn't see! Must be made of either ultra thin plexi-glass, or a gravitational pull device. Could be hard light I suppose. Put there by... one of the others because they know I have an interest in plants! Not anything at all creepy! Nothing creepy at all." He decided that spending some time with his beloved Lion would be the best thing for his nerves.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Princee Allura sat at her desk in her private quarters and looked over the document from the hospital that Keith had given her wondering what they were going to do. She thought back to something that had happened several months ago, about how Pidge had knocked on her door one morning at a very strange hour. He had been very pale in the face, and tense in the doorway, with his eyes to the ground. It had made her worried that another planet had just been blown up and there he was to tell her. She had composed herself like the princess she was, and prepared herself for the worst, then invited him in. He had stood in the middle of her floor, looking so lost and anxious, and not at all excited to be invited into the personal rooms of the Princess. Instead he was apologetic for invading her personal space and time.

"How do you cope with it?" He finally asked, voice so quiet she almost missed it.

"Cope with what?"

He raised anguished eyes to hers. "Knowing that you are nothing more than glorified beed-stock? That at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what your involvement with Voltron is, you will still be expected to produce heirs?"

At first she had been incredibly insulted, but this was Pidge, and he just didn't insult for no reason. There was more to this situation. So she thought about it for a few moments. "I try not to think about it, to tell you the truth." She flitted to one of her receiving chairs and daintily lowered her self into one. She motioned for Pidge to do so also, which he slowly did, eyes back to the floor. "I try to hope that I will at least be able to chose my husband, and that he will be someone that if I cannot actually love, that I can at least find warmth and affection with. I know that one day I will have to put the duties of my Kingdom first, and that my place at Blue Lion will be taken by another. But that is true for us all." She smiled, images of the person she desired most to fill that role playing through her mind, but then she paused, leaning closer. "Why are you asking me of this? Pidge... are you unwell?"

Pidge went paler, if that was possible, which lead her to believe that maybe he WAS sick. She almost stood to summon a doctor but he spoke again. "Today..." He took a few calming breaths. "I... I... I got my first cycle."

Allura blinked not at all comprehending, a very unrefined "Huh?" escaping her lips. "Could you please... say that again?"

Pidge DID blush then, as far as she could see from how he covered his face with his hands and gave a low moan of mortification. "I got my first cycle." He ground out between his fingers. "Now I will have to find a husband."

Again Allura blinked. "But Pidge, why would you have to find a husband? Shouldn't you have to find a WIFE? And anyway, aren't you a little young to be thinking about marriage?"

Pidge shook his head miserably.

"Pidge..." Allura hedged. "Are you trying to tell me... you're gay?"

Pidge burst into tears. Allura threw herself backwards in her seat in absolute shock, looking frantically about herself to try and figure out what the hell was going on.

"Maybe I should call in the others." She said, completely at a loss.

"NO!" Pidge surged to his feet, then bowed, wiping at the tears still streaming down his face withthe back of his hand. "I'm sorry, Princess. I shouldn't have bothered you with this. I'll find someone to replace me as soon as possible. You won't even miss me when I am gone."

He turned to leave, but Allura grabbed his wrist. "What the HELL are you talking about? Why would we need a replacement for you? Why would you leave us?"

A shudder ran through his body and he turned back to face her. "As a Balton," He whispered. "I now will have to find a husband to... to... to BREED with. It's the law."

"But why? Why a husband? I don't understand, Pidge. I want to help you, but I think you will have to explain a few things to me. Like what is a 'cycle'?"

Pidge once again blushed and turned his eyes to the ground. "You know where babies come from, right.""Of course." She snorted.

"And how it's the girls who have the babies?"

"Yeees..."

"So... now... Because of... THIS. I will have to go through that."

Still Allura didn't get it. "But you're a boy!"

Pidge nodded slowly. "Yes. But just like all Balton's, I am also, apparently, a girl."

(InsertLineBreakHere)

"Hey Pidge," Hunk wondered over while Pidge was busy tinkering with his Lion. Pidge straightened at Hunk's call, and wiped sweat from his face, inadvertently smearing oil there instead. Hunk's heart warmed at the pleased smile Pidge gave him.

"Hey Hunk." Pidge grabbed a rag to wipe his hands with. "Don't worry, these tools all weigh less than half a carton of milk."

Hunk snorted with amusement. "I thought you might like to know that Daniel and Vince are measuring the perimeter of the castle. With 29 and 37 centimeter lengths of string."

Pidge burst into giggles. "You are so EVIL! How are they taking it?"

Hunk shrugged, moseyed closer, took the rag from Pidge's hands, and wiped the smudge from his face. Pidge gave him a startled look while this was happening.

"You had oil on your face." Hunk explained huskily.

"Oh. Uh. Okay." Pidge was a bit confused, but then Hunk handed the rag back and he was able to brush it off, giving Hunk a shy smile. "So. What else is up?"

Hunk stood At Ease with his hands resting at the small of his back and his feet parted about shoulder width. "I was wondering if you would like to watch a movie with me tonight."

"Sure." Pidge shrugged. "Of course, that's assuming there aren't any Ro-beast attacks or any other emergencies."

"Of course."

They just stood staring at each other for a few minutes.

"So," Pidge hedged when the silence between them got a bit uncomfortable. "What's playing tonight anyway?"

Hunk almost fell over. "Um, I'm not sure to tell you the truth. But I think I saw Titanic 6D on the available list."

"I LOVE that movie!" Pidge squealed and danced on his toes like an excited fan-girl. "It is SO MOCKABLE!"

"I know." Hunk smiled indulgently.

"Do you remember when they did that marathon of His Brain's latest movies?"

"'Just as good as when He was alive." Hunk quoted while Pidge giggled.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Hunk was pouting. Hunk was sulking. Hunk was even disgruntled. Here he had organised to have some quality movie-mocking time with his Best Little Buddy... and some how EVERYONE found out and had to come along and ruin it!

Pidge sat, cross legged on the far end of the couch, completely across the room from Hunk, staring straight ahead at the wall-sized screen of Allura's private movie room. Beside Pidge sat Daniel, Keith and Allura, Lance, Larmina and then Vince. All eating boxed popcorn. All throwing popcorn at the screen and boo-ing loudly at the previews and various movie segments. Hunk's bottom lip frankly needed a trolly. And once it had started, Pidge was too busy mocking the movie to even notice. Life was so unfair.

"Aw COME ON!" Pidge threw popcorn with pin-point accuracy at Jack's nose. "As IF she would even LOOK at you! You're like... just after her coz she's pretty or something."

"I don't know," Allura said. "He IS pretty hot. I'd jump him if I had the chance." All eyes stared at her, there were even a few gaping mouths. "What?"

"He'd be something like five million and twenty-nine years old by now." Pidge told her.

"Five million and thirty!" Allura corrected him.

"She's ruining her honor by sleeping with him." Larmina pointed accusingly at the woman in question on the screen.

"I think that's the point." Lance snorted. "Then Mister Cheesy Bad Guy wouldn't want her any more."

"Ah, the time when a woman's virtue was actually worth something, and was to be kept only for her husband, and the act of sleeping around was a crime." Allura said whistfully.

Lance stared at her hard until she turned to him, again stating, "What?"

"You said you wou-" Lance started.

"Shut up!" She shoved her hand over Lance's mouth.

"Ahm a Bell-EEE-ver!" Pidge chortled for something like the hundredth time.

"Can you imagine them really wearing their hair like that?" Keith commented with a sort of mesmerized tilt to his head. He had not seen this movie before.

"Those are hats." Lance told him.

"Oh." He tilted his head to the other side. "Are you sure?"

"...Yeah, this is so going to end well."

And so it went on. Eventually there was more popcorn lying on the floor under the screen than there was in anyone's stomach, and they realised they were hungry.

"Who want's pizza?" Hunk asked. "Primeordial Pizza should still be open." he flipped out his com device. Everyone enthusiastically called out their orders and they returned to mocking the film until about half an hour later the food arrived. Hunk carried the piles in and set them on the coffee tables.

"Okay, we have five Mega-Awsome-Supreemo packs, hold the garlic on one, extra pickles on another, and take all the anchovies from two of them and put them on the last one;" Hunk recited, watching Daniel, Vince, Keith and Lance dive into the boxes like they had been starved for the last five years. "One Extra-Petite-Miniature-Pony pack, with onions and squid thanks for Allura; one Large Chicken Ballerina pack with extra mash on the side for Larmina; one Vegetarian pizza with pineapple, banana, strawberries and chocolate topping for Pidge; and one Oh-My-God-It's-So-Good-I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Butter pack for me."

They all started eating with gusto. It was Daniel who looked across at Pidge's meat-less Pizza. "No wonder you're skinnier than Larmina." He said. "You don't eat real food, you eat weird plant-stuff instead. Just like, you know, how pregnant women eat weird shit all the time."

Lance had the honor of slapping him over the head this time, while Larmina screeched "What do you mean he's skinnier than I am?"

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Strangely enough (and much to Lance's disgust), there was no Ro-beast attack. No invasion, and no emergencies of any kind. So that meant that after sending the Cadets off to bed, Hunk was able to take Pidge down to the kitchen after the movie and crack open a few beers.

Hunk took a swig from his beer while watching Pidge from over the top of his bottle. After several gulps of his beer Pidge got very well into being sloshed- or at least was very buzzed- and leaned his elbow on the table, chin on his hand, himself eyeing Hunk speculatively. He had a wide, relaxed smile, and a slight pink tinge to his face. Hunk was secretly amazed that his Little Buddy was still standing considering his tolerance for alcohol - or lack there of, due to his size. That was something that Pidge had once confided he found irritating, like he was less than a man because it seemed like everyone could out drink him. Even the women.

That also didn't count the meds he was on, Hunk thought. Oops. They had been in the kitchen for a few hours now, drinking and talking and drinking some more. "So what do you think?" Hunk asked nonchalantly.

Pidge drunkenly held up his bottle in with the hand that he wasn't currently holding his head up with, and with hooded eyes pointed at Hunk. "I think," he slurred. "that it sounds like you are trying to flirt with me."

Hunk raised an eyebrow. "Is it working?"

Pidge sat back in his chair, and swiveled his chair side to side while thinking. He stopped swiveling to take a swig of his beer before leaning forward again, and grinned. "Maybe."

Hunk grinned back at him. "Wanna come play with me?" He held out a hand in invitation.

"What sort of game?"

"I'm sure we could find something fun."

Pidge looked at the had, then back at Hunk. Then back at the hand, and back at Hunk. "Sure," He shrugged. "Why not? I likes you well enough." He grasped Hunk's hand and grinned widely. But standing proved to be too difficult right then, so when he stood the world tilted to the the side and in a fit of giggles he landed on the floor. "I think I've strained my big toe!" Pidge cackled loudly. "Don't tell Lance! He'll be jealous!" Chuckling, Hunk pulled Pidge off the ground with one yank and hugged him close. They stood staring into each other's eyes.

"Can't have you walking on a strained toe, then, can we." Hunk murmured.

Pidge nodded drunkenly. "Yeah, I might stand on it. And it might hurt."

"My room or yours?"

"I don't care."

"Alright then," Hunk pulled Pidge up into his arms, while Pidge giggled and squealed like a little kid. "Let's go!"

(InsertLineBreakHere)

In the darkness and stillness of Pidge's room, all at once, the flower heads of all the gerberas fell to the ground.

To be continued...


	11. He Sunk My Battleship

24 October 2012- 17 November 2012

Hacked  
by Zuzanny

part 11

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Hunk rubbed his bleary eyes and poured himself some coffee. He turned to face his two team mates who were snickering to each other (well, actually, more like Lance was snickering enough for everyone in the castle).

"Late night?" Lance grinned, lecherously wriggling his eye brows.

Hunk rolled his eyes. "Shuddup. Yeah we had a late night. So what? Jealous?"

Lance spluttered his laughter, trying to look dignified and failing. Hunk grinned into his mug.

"Better leave him alone," Keith seriously told Lance. "You don't want him to do to you what he did to Daniel and Vince."

"That was brilliant, by the way." Lance flashed Hunk two thumbs up and grinned. "I was starting to worry that those two have an obsession with Latrine duty, the way they seem to go out of their way to do it."

Hunk saluted him with his mug. Keith got mugs of coffee for himself and Lance, handing one to Lance while Lance straddled a chair beside Hunk.

"So, come on," Lance slapped the table top a few times. "Give us the goss!"

"Nothin' to tell." Hunk took a long sip, becoming aware of the two waiting men; one trying to look like he was not at all interested, the other looking far too interested for what was healthy. "What?" He cried. "Nothin' to tell! Honestly you two! You're like, I dunno, really creepy... creepy uncles... or somethin'."

Lance snickered. "Got it in one, there."

"So where's Pidge?" Keith finally asked what Lance was dying to know.

"Still sleeping." Hunk took another sip before slamming the mug down on the table, splashing coffee all over the place. "NOTHING! HAPPENED!"

"OoOh..." Lance leaned closer, his lecherous grin growing wider. "I heard an awful lot of, uh, 'Giggling'... for 'Nothing to have happened'."

Hunk mumbled something.

"What was that?" Lance teased.

"I said, WE PLAYED BATTLESHIP!" Then Hunk pouted. "Even when completely smashed he's still better at it than me."

Lance broke into rolling laughter. "You! Played! B-Battleship! BWAH-HAHAHA!Poor Hunk! Can't get any love, huh?"

"Shuddup! And even if I did, I wouldn't tell YOU!"

Lance continued to laugh.

"Now now, Lance," Keith admonished. "What Hunk and Pidge get up to in the privacy of their rooms is none of our business."

"Thank you!" Hunk said.

"But anything in the kitchen is fair game."

"KEITH!" Hunk shrieked, going quite red with shock.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

There was a loud, rhythmic thumping. Almost like someone was next door and playing really really loud music with a base beat that rattled the windows, only there was no music to go along with it. Normally that wouldn't bother him, but right now it was so incredibly loud that it shook the world around him, and he just wanted to storm over there, kick the door down, and beat the crap out of who ever it was who had shoved their speakers against the wall and turned them up past 11. (Seriously, why would anyone do that to themselves? Did no one value their hearing anymore?). He pressed his head into the pillow in an attempt to block his ears, but the thumping only got louder. That was when he realised it was actually his own heart beat he was hearing.

Pidge slowly peeled his eyes open, groaning loudly into the very fluffy pillow his face was pressed against, while his head pounded. Actually, he decided, 'pounded' was not the right word for it. Or maybe it was? It would be the right word if it were the kind of pounding that involved having someone repeatedly smashing his head with a very heavy object, like a hammer or a lead pipe. Or even some kind of bat, really. He had to check to make sure there wasn't actually someone standing over him with a bat trying to cave his head in. There wasn't. He almost wished there was. It may be less painful.

Vaguely, from the quick surveillance of the room that had his head spinning and stomach swirling with nausea, Pidge realised he was was in Hunk's room. Alone. In Hunk's bed. With his face pressed against Hunk's pillow. Breathing in the smell of Hunk from Hunk's bedding. He rolled onto his back, covering his eyes with an arm, again groaning loudly as his stomach rolled and threatened to spill out his ears. He tried to take deep breaths to sooth the nausea away, but it persisted. He didn't want to puke on Hunk's floor. He didn't want to puke on Hunk's floor! He didn't!

Pidge threw the blankets off and sprung out of the bed. He yanked the door open when it wouldn't move fast enough and virtually teleported into his own room and his own private ensuit to worship before.He didn't exactly remember what he had eaten or drunken the night before, but from the taste on exiting, he guessed beer was the main component.

"I think I really hate you right now." Pidge said to Hunk. It didn't matter that the man in question wasn't present. He leaned forward, flushed, and pressed his forehead against the cold porcelain with closed eyes. For a while he just concentrated on breathing. Slowly he leaned to the side, curling up on the cool tiles, slowly breathing through his nose, drifting to sleep...

"May-day..." Came a woman's faint plea. Pidge's eyes snapped open and he sat upright. It sounded like it was coming from his bedroom. He turned his head to listen as it continued. "Please... Can anyone here me? May-day... May-day..."

Pidge shakily climbed to his feet and staggered out to his room. The screen of his communication desk was on and showing black and white static. Pidge blinked, and stepped closer to it, feeling the hair on the back of his neck raising.

"May-day..." the pleas continued, louder now that he was in the same room. Getting louder and more desperate. "May-day... Is anyone out there? Please respond..." Ignoring the pounding in his head, Pidge lowered himself into his chair, and quickly called up a search on the frequency to try and lock on the signal. "May-day... May-day..."

"This is Pidge, Voltron Green Lion Pilot of Arus receiving your distress call." He sent back. "Please identify yourself and your situation."

There was just the buzz of feedback for few moments. "May-day... May-day... Please... Is anyone there?"

Pidge fiddled with his equipment, struggling to keep the signal clear, and repeated himself. The feedback continued. "May-day... May-day... Oh God, please help us! They're cutting in! May-day... Mayday!"

"What is your location?" Pidge leaned forward on the desk, as though getting closer to the screen would help the woman hear him better. "Come ON! Give me something to work with!"

Then she was screaming, long agonizing, full of terror, and leaving a thoroughly shaken Pidge staring at the screen as it went blank, the connection terminated.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Allura rushed into the mess hall, interrupting the conversation of the men on her team. "Come quick." She said urgently. "Our system is being hacked!"

The four teem members rushed to the control room to see all the monitor screens open and scrolling through technical data and star charts. Keith threw himself into a chair, rushing to try and access the information, while Lance and Hunk stood watching the flow of data.

"I can't get in." Keith ground out, still trying. "I need Pidge up here."

Hunk nodded and ran out.

"What is it they are after?" Lance said. "I don't see any personal information being searched. Or even any Voltron related info. Just star charts. That's... weird."

"Is it... a search for something else?" Allura asked, pointing to constellations she knew and regularly navigated through. The images paused briefly on those star charts, before moving onto the next set, then the next set, then the next.

"It's searching sector by sector." Keith said. "Who ever is doing this is good. I can't get in at all. I don't even know if Pidge could."

"I'll get Vince." Allura said, and left, leaving Keith and Lance alone.

"We could pull the power?" Lance suggested.

"Allura already tried that. The terminal's back up generator can't be pulled."

"Can you tell if they are uploading any viruses?"

"Doesn't look like it. Just our search engine has been hijacked."

"WOAH! Did you see THAT?" Lance yelped at one of the charts that were only up for a few seconds. "That has got to be a result of hacking."

Keith agreed. No way planet Doom would be missing from their charts.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Pidge's fingers ran over the controls as he searched desperately for any sign of the distress call, but there was not even any sign of it being logged in the incoming transmissions. There was no sign of it anywhere. He knew it had been there so he decided to search for it, sector by sector if needed. Auras Castle had the most powerful and far reaching search engine available. He knew. He built it. So sector by sector he searched, and was unable to find anything. But he had to keep looking! He needed to find these people! That woman's screams still echoed in his ears.

"I want to throw you to the ground and ravish you." Was breathed directly in his ear. Pidge shot out of his chair with a yelp, spinning and lashing out with his arm to knock the offender away. Only there was no one there. Just Hunk panting at the doorway.

"You're needed in the control room." Hunk said while trying to catch his breath. "We're being hacked."

Pidge stared at him, not really registering what Hunk was saying while still trying to find the threat in his rooms.

Hunk took a few steps into the room, observing how Pidge stood in a defensive stance, eyes tracking about the room, behind him his monitor screen scrolled through star charts and navigational systems just like in the control room. "Pidge," He started, then his eyes fell on the pile of shriveled orange gerbera heads on the floor and around the vase. Their stems were still green and pointing up out of the water. There were other yellow flowers in the vase now, ones that he had not noticed before. And then there was that rose. Standing there. On the bench. With nothing to hold it up right. "Pidge." Hunk called to get his attention. Pidge finally focussed on him with a small shake, like he was shaking ice off. "I want you to come here. Now." Hunk said it slowly, but in the tone of voice that said it was really important to do what you're told. He reached out an arm towards Pidge as encouragement to move.

Pidge nodded, and stepped towards him, but then his monitor pinged. Pidge turned back towards it, eyes running over the search results. "Zee sector." He murmured. He was about to go back to his typing when Hunk lay a strong, firm hand on his shoulder. Pidge blinked up at him, as though he had only just noticed Hunk's presence. "Oh, hey, Hunk!" Pidge smiled.

"I need you to come with me. Now." Hunk said firmly.

"Sure." Pidge agreed, and went with him.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

"We have access again." Keith told Allura as she ushered a nervous Vince into the room, navigational charts for Zee sector had finally settled and were slowly spinning on the monitors.

"Interesting that." Lance said, indicating the sector in particular. "Keeps coming back to this, eh?"

"What is also interesting is this." Keith brought up charts for Doom controlled territory. Which currently had a gaping empty space where the planet should have been.

"But why would Doom hack into our systems to remove their planet from the database?" Allura asked.

"It's not our data base," Keith answered. "THAT is current satellite imagery. Either planet Doom has developed some major stealth technology, or... it's not there anymore."

To be continued...


	12. Ninjas Come to Visit

24 October 2012- 22 November 2012

Hacked

by Zuzanny  
Part 12

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
"Incoming message from Chip!" Keith announced as Hunk escorted Pidge into the control center.

"Really!" Pidge was delighted, and bounded into the room, slowing to a confused walk when he saw all the open screens with the star charts all over them. "What-"

A face that almost mirrored Pidge's appeared on screen , interrupting Pidge's question. "Hey guys," Chip greeted, looking a tad strained around his eyes. "I hope you don't mind, but I my tag-alongs wouldn't let me come by myself."

His image was replaced by that of an older ninja with a peppered grey beard.

"Grand Master Steiner!" Pidge called out, automatically bowing low. "It is an honor!"

"Hello, Pidge." The Grand master said warmly. "Greetings to Princess Allura, and all members of Voltron Force. I apologize for the uninvited visit, but a Situation has come to my attention that is of great importance. We are in orbit, and request permission to land in two hours."

"Permission is granted, and welcome." Princess Allura said.

The Grand Master's expression became troubled "I hope it will stay so, Princess. Until we meet." With the pleasantries over, the call ended.

Hunk casually moseyed over to his Commander. "The Librarian's been back." he told Keith in a low voice. "Keep missing her though."

"Really." Keith tried to sound unconcerned with Pidge and Vince in the room. "Any good books left behind?"

"Oooh, yes."

"Hmm. Anything related to, uh, sailing the seas?"

Hunk paused for a moment. "You know, I think that could be very possible!"

"What are you talking about?" Pidge asked.

"Pidge!" Allura interrupted. "Since we now have less than two hours to prepare for the arrival of Dignitaries from your planet, could you please please please help me prepare? I don't know if the kitchens are up to the task of preparing Balton cuisine quite right."

Pidge knew she was trying to distract him, and crossed his arms completely unimpressed. The kitchen staff were some of the best there was anywhere. That was common knowledge.

"PLEEEEESE?" She battered her eye lashes at him.

"Fine." He sighed, but then turned to jab a finger at Hunk's chest. "I want a dragon for my birthday, dammit. A big, fire breathing dragon. Or a pony. A big, fire breathing pony. Don't you dare forget it!" And he left with the Princess, taking Vince along for the ride.

"We are so busted." Lance said.

"But Pidge," Allura's voice trailed down the hall. "What would you do with a fire breathing pony?"

"I'd look after it, and brush it's mane and keep it in the closet and feed it carrots." came the reply.

"So," Keith turned his attention to Hunk once they were sure Pidge was completely out of earshot. "What did you find?"

Hunk told them of his observations.

"So PIDGE was hacking us?" Lance said, then mused, "Can we call it hacking if it's one of us is doing it?"

"I don't-" Hunk took in a steadying breath. "I don't think it was necessarily Pidge doing the hacking."

"I agree." Keith said, turning back to the star charts that were still showing on the monitor. He sighed, closed the window to one of the charts, and opened another window that brought up the security cameras. He played the earlier images of Pidge scrambling from Hunk's room down the hall to his own room. "There is still no obvious sign of entry for those 'messages' to be left. We knew it was a possibility before, but I think we now have to face it. Pidge himself has been compromised, and whether he is aware of it or not, he is assisting this enemy."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Two hours later, the main castle doors opened to welcome the group of ninjas, lead by Grand Master Steiner, Chip flanked by all the others. All were in their full ninja battle armor. On either side of the great hall the the courtiers and general citizens wishing to petition the Princess waited and watched. As part of her royal training (and much to her personal disgust) Larmina stood behind and beside her Aunt.

Princess Allura, dressed in her Splendid Royal Garb and seated on the throne at the end of the entrance hall, raised a graceful arm from the rest, and permitted the ninjas to continue forward. "Welcome Ninja Grand Master, and Friends from New Balto." She stated officially, her voice ringing out for all to hear. "You sounded troubled earlier. Prey, approach so we may talk. "

The party of ninjas did so, bowing respectfully before her, Grand Master Steiner clasping her outstretched hand in his own to kiss the back of it. "Your Royal Highness," He said, then lowered his voice so only those closest could hear. "we thank you for allowing us to attend court at such short notice, but this matter is of an urgent private and confidential nature, regarding planetary security. I beg a closed meeting so we may discuss it."

"Of course." Princess Allura gracefully rose to her feet to address the court. "We will adjourn for today." Then she turned like a beautiful swan, and swept out, leading her niece and the ninjas out through a side door. Behind them she could hear her heads of state stepping in to deal with the public in her stead.

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Princess Allura sent Larmina to get Keith, and then Larmina was sent on her way, the little brat muttering the entire time about how she never got to be involved with anything interesting. She decided to head down to the rec room to see just what it was she could "wreck" while she waited.

Once all were seated at a table behind the closed doors of a meeting room, Princess Allura turned to The Grand Master. "What is this about?"

"We believe that Pidge is in grave danger of being ensnared by some highly dangerous beings." The Grand Master told her. "These are creatures that specifically target, hunt and feed off young Baltons who are... vulnerable to, uh... breeding."

"Impregnation, you mean?" Keith stated, much to all the Baltons' shock.

Allura gave them a small smile, and tried to soothe their anxieties. "We've known about the, uh, Unique Balton physiology for a while now. It's hard not to when we all live in such close quarters. It makes sense to train your entire population to fight from such early ages, in order to protect yourselves. Please be reassured, there are many tales taking their turns throughout the networks about all different races. Very few actually believe such tales let alone know the truth. You have nothing to fear from us." She expected some kind of out burst from their group from that, but they were far too well trained, and remained silent.

"Thank you, Princess." Grand master said, inclining his head.

"I still would like to know why it is you believe Pidge is in danger from... what ever these being are?" Keith tried to sound non-commital.

The Grand Master called Chip forward, who then presented Allura with his personal com unit, bringing up the message from Pidge. Keith leaned close to view them at the same time. "I only received all these messages days ago." Chip explained while they watched. "I don't know why, but I believe that the system has been hacked. I know Pidge is capable of doing that. He wouldn't, normally... but... We know HE's been hacked, so it's possible they took the knowledge from him, or have set impulses in his mind to do the work for them." He drew off, and waited for the message to end it's play.

"What the hell was THAT?" Allura's voice rose with the alarm she felt when seeing blood-red figure in the message and the way Pidge responded to it's presence.

"We believe, that it is one of the Demons first encountered on Balto during terraforming. One, that is specifically referred to in our folk law as The Red Terror. Tell me, has he been having nightmares of late?"

"Yes." Allura breathed with a sinking in her heart. She blinked back tears. "He wakes us most nights with his screaming. Hunk took to staying with him at night, and it's been better since."

"What will happen to him?" Keith asked with utmost seriousness, taking the com unit from Allura and playing the message again.

"If we do nothing," The grand master explained. "he will go mad; become delusional, unable to tell reality from dreams, and in this time frame he will be easily manipulated by the beast to do their will and create chaos. Then, he will become increasingly hostile, terror filled to the point of being homicidal, and then cannibalistic. Then, if he is not killed by others in their self defense, the creatures will take him to use in their hive. Those taken have never returned."

"And if we do something?"

"We maybe able to free him of their hold over him, if it not already too strong. They may just take him anyway."

"Okay, so what can we do?"

Grand Master Steiner inclined his head at the ninjas holding the large stone jars. "We need to separate him and the Demons long enough to capture the Demons and seal them away again. And Pidge will need to be partnered to remove any interest they may hold in him."

"Again?" Keith asked, staring with raised eye brows at the jars. "What do you mean again?"

A female ninja stepped forward to talk this time. "Our ancestors captured and sealed the Demons away many centuries ago. They were kept hidden in our sacred temples ever since. Unfortunately it is easy enough to accidently unseal a demon from containment. It wouldn't have taken much. We don't know how many of the units would have been removed during the exodus of Balto, and how many were destroyed along with the planet."

"I thought everyone one got off?" Keith said with a tone that told them he didn't believe the whole story had been told.

"Those who had access to space travel did, yes." Grand Master Steiner said gravely. "To this day there are many unaccounted for, even of those ships. Our fleets have managed to find survivors all over the universe, but there are still many unknown places, or worlds with their own secrets. We had very little time to evacuate. We cannot truly be sure that all the population records we have are complete."

"And it would be pretty embarrassing for word to get out that a whole planet of ninja-scientists had lost everything." keith added. "I get it."

"So why would this... Red Terror choose now to ... attach to Pidge?" Allura asked.

"Opportunity, perhaps?" The female ninja suggested. "Do you have any idea where Pidge encountered it?"

"Zee sector." Keith answered immediately. "He and Daniel were performing maintenance on an unmanned satellite, and it happened there." Keith told them about what they knew about Pidge's fight on the station, then how he was found.

"And this Daniel was left untouched?" The Grand Master asked. "Curious."

"Maybe Pidge was a satisfying enough meal?" The female ninja shrugged.

"Daniel's not Balton, so why would he be of interest?" Allura asked.

"You misunderstand, Princess. They TAKE Balton's. The just slaughter everyone else."

"I have another question." Keith said, pointing at the stone jars. "Just HOW exactly are you supposed to seal a demon into one of those jars?"

Glances were exchanged amongst the ninjas. "We're not exactly sure." The Grand Master admitted slowly. "We have been trained in what has been passed down through the generations, of course. But it has been many generations since there has been actual need for containment."

"So... you really can't be sure that what happened to Pidge really IS related to the demons of your planet after all."

"How else would you explain it?"

"Some new plan from Mahox and Lotor to over throw Voltron."

Another exchange of glances happened. "That is highly unlikely, especially now. In fact, the relationship between Pidge and Doom could explain much about why Doom was no longer present on our travels here. Has Pidge been receiving strange gifts?"

Allura and Keith exchanged glances now. "Yes." She said. "Flowers. With disturbing meanings." And they told the ninjas exactly what flowers Pidge had been given.

"We must not delay." Grand Master Steiner insisted, and indicated to one of the other men in his group. "Scaroce here has been selected to partner with Pidge." The man in question inclined his head. "We will perform the ritual to extract the demon and seal it away." Seeing how horrified both Allura and Keith were over this, Steiner continued. "It is the only way. There will be a lot of bloody death if it is not done."

Keith turned to the wall, fists clenched by his sides. "Alright." He ground out. "I'll got get him."

(InsertLineBreakHere)Keith was bloody angry. He was disgusted. He stormed out of that meeting feeling absolutely sick to the stomach that he was going to authorize the equivalent to a forced marriage to a key member of his team, and very good friend. What would this mean to Pidge? What would this DO to him? "All for the greater good." He spat. He had seen the look in that ninja's eyes, that one who "had been selected" for Pidge. That man had a sick eagerness there. Did he even know Pidge? Did Pidge know HIM? What if Pidge objected? Keith shook his head while he continued his storming. He already knew that Pidge was exhibiting the symptoms they warned about. It the ninja's really COULD fix this... perhaps, one day, Pidge may find it in his heart to forgive him.

Keith wasn't at all expecting the way that Pidge reacted when he found him and Hunk sitting together in the mess hall and tried to explain how the Grand Master wanted Pidge to go and "partner" with one of the ninjas in the tag along team. He purposely left out the bit with the demon possession and sealing and what-not.

Pidge's shoulders just slumped and he bowed his head before sighing. "I knew this would happen eventually." He said with resignation. "I was just hoping to avoid it a little longer." He looked up at his two team mates and gave them a weak smile. "I really enjoyed my time here. It's been an honor to serve with you all." He stood to leave, Hunk yanked a hold of his arm to stop him.

"No." Hunk said firmly.

Pidge tried to be patient with his friend. "It's the law, Hunk. Once a Balton starts to cycle they have to be Partnered and enter the Breeding Program." A shudder ran through his body at that, which he tried to shake off. "It's the law." He repeated in a whisper, avoiding their eyes. "I can't expect any different just because I'm a member of Voltron Force."

"Well, let's see about THAT!" Hunk then rose from the chair, and literally dragged Pidge by the arm out to talk to the Ninja Master and his group.

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
"You can't take him." Hunk growled at the Grand Master, voice rumbling like the lion he represented.

"It is the law." Grand Master Steiner said firmly. "And it is even more important now than ever. There is more at stake here than just personal preference."

"He already IS partnered!" Hunk snapped, and placed a possessive arm around Pidge's shoulders and pulling him close. "With ME!"

Pidge turned wide, surprised eyes up at Hunk, squeaking "He IS?"

"Yes. We've been courting for a months now. Last night he accepted my proposal."

Pidge's eyes went even wider, if that was possible. He sure didn't remember anything like that happening!

"Is this true?" The Grand Master turned dark, all knowing eyes to Pidge who blinked, then shuffled closer to Hunk, wrapping his arms awkwardly around Hunk's middle in a strange looking hug.

"Uh, yeah. We're... uh..." He looked up at Hunk begging for help. "We're together?" He turned to look with determination at the Grand Master. "So... I don't need to Partner with Scaroce. Or leave the Voltron Force. Or Arus."

"Good." Hunk snapped. "Glad we cleared all that up. We're going now." And he dragged Pidge out of the room again leaving all behind staring in shock.

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
"So we've been courting?" Pidge asked when they stopped in the mess hall kitchens and Hunk started rummaging through the fridges muttering angrily to himself. "For the last few months, huh?"

Hunk paused in his rummaging, and turned to face Pidge, holding the fridge door open. "Well... not for the last few MONTHS..." He admitted. "But, yes."

"Oh. Okay. I just... didn't... know." Pidge sat himself up on one of the kitchen benches to watch Hunk who was now staring at him with wide eyes.

"You said you were okay with it." Hunk blurted.

"When?"

"In hospital. After the thing with your heart. You said it would be okay for me to court you."

Pidge gaped at the man. "You do realise that I was heavily drugged at the time, right?"

Hunk looked down at his feet like a chastised child. "Yeah. Now I do. I'll understand it if you don't wanna any more..."

"I didn't say that." Pidge said quickly. "It's just... there is so much going on right now, Hunk. I don't know what any of this MEANS. What do you expect from me? What should I expect from you? I've never... I've never been in a relationship before. And I don't... know... if I could do any... physical stuff." The blush that spread over Pidge's cheeks let Hunk know exactly what types of physical stuff he was referring to, which also made Hunk blush. "And I don't know when I would even be ready for that."

"Well, um... we don't have to be DOING any of that physical stuff yet. We could just keep hanging out together like we do." Hunk went back to rummaging through the contents of the fridge.

"But that's not fair on you, if you want to do the physical stuff."

"I've lived this long without any physical stuff. I think I could cope for a bit longer."

"But what if you can't? What if you decided that you can't be bothered waiting for physical stuff any longer and decide to get it elsewhere? I don't think I could cope with that."

"Pidge, the physical stuff is not the reason I want to be with you. Yeah, that may be fun, but... I want YOU. Physical stuff or no physical stuff."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Pidge smiled shyly. "Okay."

"I'm making a sandwich. That fancy-shmancy stuff Allura had made for the guests is just too refined for me. You want one?"

Pidge grinned. "Sure."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Later, after Pidge had been called into the rec room by an almost hysterical Vince over some new stupid thing that Larmina and Daniel had gotten up to that needed his urgent attention to fix, Hunk returned to his quarters.

Every surface in Hunks room was covered in a mixture of basil, tansy and rocket leaves, and the flowers of belvedere, french marygolds, wild liquorice, milfoil, pasque flower, pennyroyal, and yellow roses.

To be continued...

Basil - Hatred  
Belvedere - I declare against you  
French Marygold- Jealousy  
Wlid Liquorice - I declare against you  
Milfoil - war  
Pasque flower - you have no claims  
Pennyroyal - flee away  
Rocket - Rivalry  
Yellow rose - jealousy  
Wild Tansy - I declare war against you

(The Language of Flowers book)


	13. What Haven't I Been Told?

24 October 2012- 06 December 2012

Hacked  
by Zuzanny  
Part 13

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
It was the smell that hit him first, like a slap in the face when his door slid open. Sweet and cloying in it's over powering mixture of scents. Hunk took one look at the plant life that carpeted his entire room, blinked, reached down to grab a handful of the mix, turned, and marched back towards the meeting room with the ninjas. He stormed into their still heated discussion and tossed the mix on the table. All eyes followed the cartwheeling flower heads and assorted leafy bits across the tabletop, then turned to look up at him.

"Enough!" Hunk spat out angrily. "Who ever it is who keeps delivering these can just stop dammit! Pidge doesn't want them any more, and I sure as hell don't want them either!"

The ninjas all exchanged glances.

"Hunk?" Princess Allura hedged. "Those flowers?"

"Are all over everything in my room! It stinks like toilet air fresheners now! So I'm telling you lot that enough is enough! We don't want any more deliveries! And you can go and clean it all up yourselves!"

The Grand Master stood and picked up a tansy sprig, rolling it between his finger tips. "We are not the ones who are doing this." He said. "It never has been."

"Oh yeah?" Hunk slapped both hands on the table top. "Who is it then?"

"Demons." Keith answered.

Hunk stared at him with disbelief. "You serious? But I aint smelled any sulfur, not that I could with all the perfume in the air."

"They're BALTON demons." Keith clarified.

"Is THAT why they're obsessed with flowers?" Hunk snarked, then turned pensive as he thought about that creepy floating rose.

"No," the Grand master said. "It is why they are obsessed with Pidge."

Hunk blinked. "Yeah? Well, they better STOP being obsessed. It's bloody well pissing me off!"

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Hunk left the Ninja Party to set up their De-Possessing-Of-Pidge ritual in the meeting room and walked briskly towards the rec room where he knew Pidge had been off to when they last spoke. He didn't really know about demons or ghosts or that kind of thing, he was more into the physical side of stuff. In his mind it was more likely that there was a psycho-ninja-freak-of-nature with a hard on for Pidge doing stalker-like stuff than there was ghosts and ghouls involved.

"Yeah, I KNOW we deal with magic shit all the time," he muttered to himself as he traveled the halls. "But I still think it's a fair jump from a flesh-and-bone stalker to demons."

He rounded the corner to the sound of very loud heavy metal music blasting away from the rec room, and grinned. He liked this song. He trotted up to the rec room to peer around the frame of the door... to see Pidge fighting off all three cadets who were attacking him as hard as they could, kicking, punching, slashing with weapons drawn. Pidge was weaponless, and successfully blocking all three, dodging and darting around their attacks, punching and striking and hitting the cadets, breaking through their defenses. He was sweating and red in the face. Hunk had a flash back to holding Pidge's dead weight in his arms, pressing his lips to cooling skin to breath into Pidge's lungs, and the crunching sensation of ribs as he performed compressions in a desperate attempt to resuscitate his best and dearest friend. Hunk marched over to the music player, and ripped it away from it's power source. All fighting stopped with multiple exclamations and protests over the lack of music.

Hunk couldn't speak, he was so angry. He marched right over to Pidge, who was panting heavily, shushing the kids, and eyeing Hunk with confusion, and just like earlier grabbed him by the upper arm to drag him out of the room.

"What the hell!" Pidge yelped. "Hunk what the HELL are you doing?"

Once out of view of the very curious cadets, Hunk shoved Pidge back against the wall and leaned in close to growl "we need to talk."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
"So you're saying what?" Pidge hissed angrily. "That now that we are... 'Together'... that I have to stay at home pining for you like a good little wife? That suddenly I'm no longer a warrior or pilot, but I am this weak damsel in distress that needs you to rescue me from the evil dragon? What?"

Hunk tried to protest. "That's not what I said."

"Are you sure?" Pidge glared, hands on his hips. "Because that's sure what it sounded like to me."

Hunk took in a shaky breath, trying to figure out how this had gotten so messed up so quickly. "I just want to keep you safe." He mumbled.

"Hunk," Pidge snapped with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Please tell me you haven't forgotten who and what I am. Please tell me you are not going to start looking at me like the Cadets always have. Because that would not only really piss me off, but it would..." He wrapped his arms around himself and looked away from the larger man while refusing to let the tears gather. "It would be the end of 'us'." he finally said.

Hunk threw his arms around Pidge and pulled him into a tight hug. "Don't say that!" He had to fight back the panic he was feeling at Pidge's words. Pidge let Hunk hold onto him for a few minutes before pulling back to look him in the eyes.

"Then stop treating me like I'm incompetent or so fragile that a butterfly landing on me would snap my bones. It's bloody insulting."

"You almost DIED!" Hunk burt out. "Don't you get that? Your heart STOPPED! You WERE dead, Pidge."

Pidge gently lay a hand on Hunk's arm. "I know." he softly said.

"I don't think you do." Hunk said in a low voice. "When I caught you, and you were dead, that was the single-most horrible moment in my life. Don't you GET it? Don't you understand what you mean to me? If you were to die, to REALLY die... Pidge." His hands tightened on Pidge's arms hard enough to bruise. "I can't ..."

"But I'm not dead." Pidge insisted, voice still gentle. "You got my heart started again. You breathed for me until I could breath again. And I'm okay now."

Hunk got a pained expression on his face. "But you're not okay now." He whispered.

"What?"

"Nothin." Hunk started to turn away himself.

"Oh, no you don't!" Pidge grabbed hold of him, tripped him up before he could get more than a few steps away, and straddled his backside. "You don't get to say something like that and just walk away!"

"Forget I said anything." Hunk briefly struggled, but Pidge twisted his arm behind his back with enough pressure that Hunk knew would cause major damage to himself if you kept going.

"No!" Pidge almost yelled it. "What the HELL is going on? Ever since that thing out Zee sector, you've been treating me different. But I'm fine! Why can't you accept that?"

Hunk closed his eyes and let his cheek lie on the floor. "Pidge," he said [tiredly]. "You don't remember everything that happened to you. How can you possibly say you are fine? And now with all the wired shit going on..."

Pidge stared down at Hunk for a few moments, before abruptly releasing his hold on his arm. "What haven't I been told?"

"I can't tell you."

"To HELL with that!" Pidge surged to his feet. "Was I killed and I'm now existing as a clone or a cyborg? What?"

Hunk snorted. "As if THAT would ever happen." But then he grew serious again, rolling over and leaning up on his elbows. "I don't know if I should tell you or wait for you to remember it on your own. In some ways it would be better if you didn't know at all."

"So I have some kind of life threatening, degenerative and highly contagious disease? Oops, I guess you do too. WAIT! Did you GIVE me a life threatening, degenerative and highly contagious disease?! You PRICK! You told me drinking from the same bottle would be safe!"

Hunk almost smiled at the Pidge's teasing tone. Almost. "No. I didn't. And no, you don't."

"Oh," Pidge sighed dramatically. "Well that's a relief."

"You're pregnant."

Silence.

Pidge went utterly still. "What?" was asked in a hushed, deadly voice. He eyed Hunk suspiciously. Hunk shifted, feeling guilty simply from that gaze. "When did that happen?"

"Our best guess is while you were being hacked."

"...Oh. Well. Okay, I guess. These things happen. Please excuse me." Pidge backed away while Hunk rose to his feet. Hunk tried to pull Pidge back towards him, but Pidge flung his hands away with a firm "DON'T!" After putting more distance between them, Pidge gave Hunk a strained smile. "I guess that explains everything."

He fled.

Hunk cursed and chased after him.

Pidge was incredibly fast and agile, while Hunk was stronger and built for endurance. And Hunk knew that if he lost sight of Pidge it would be virtually impossible to catch up to him again. So he refused to loose sight of him.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Pidge yelled at the Cadets while he raced down the castle halls.

The Cadets pressed themselves against the walls to save themselves from being knocked over by Pidge and then trampled by Hunk.

"Don't let him get away!" Hunk called to the Cadets when racing past. The Cadets exchanged brief glances and watched Pidge perform an acrobatic move that involved running up the wall at the end of the hall to change directions without needing to slow down. Hunk skidded to slowdown, slammed and rebounded off the wall, then launched back into the chase.

"Let's go." Daniel ordered and they all joined in. Daniel engaged his speed and after smacking into a few walls himself, managed to catch up with Hunk. "What's going on?" He asked while maintaining pace with the larger man. "Is Arus under attack?"

"No." Hunk ground out. "Pidge is upset is all."

"Pidge is upset? With YOU?" Daniel skidded to a halt. "No bloody way I'm getting between him and you! You're on your own man!"

Hunk ground his teeth. It was nothing new to him.

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Pidge eventually slowed down to a brisk walk, his ribs no doubt still paining him. Hunk jogged up and matched pace beside him.

"Doc said no running." Hunk reminded him quietly.

"Yeah, well the doc can go to hell!" Pidge snapped. "It was HIS JOB to make sure I knew what was wrong with me, and instead of informing ME, he told EVERYONE ELSE! I am this close to slapping him with a malpractice suit."

"It didn't go like that-"

Pidge stopped walking and turned angrily to Hunk who stopped after just a few more steps. "YOU knew that... THIS had happened to me!" Pidge pointed accusingly at Hunk's chest. "And you kept it from me! WHY? Has all this 'Oh Pidge I want to court you!' been a rouse because obviously I'm an easy lay if I'm FREAKING PREGNANT!"

"No," Hunk stayed as calm and quiet as he could, watching to make sure Pidge wasn't going for his weapons. So far so good.

"Then WHY?" There was real pain in Pidge's eyes now, not just anger. Hunk stepped closer and reached out to touch Pidge's face. Pidge let him.

"I told you." Hunk insisted. "I... care about you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I want to protect you and keep you safe. I knew that you were worried about what being a Balton means, and how it will affect your life. I want to be with you through all that."

Pidge closed his eyes and took in a shuddering breath. "But someone already beat you to it." He said, then snapped his eyes open again, stepping backwards out of Hunk's touch. "You have no idea how absolutely, disgustingly, skin crawlingly dirty I feel now!" He brushed past Hunk to continue down the hall.

"Where are you going?" Hunk called, once again matching pace with him.

"I need to wash the filth off."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Pidge stood in his shower, scrubbing furiously at his hair while the burning hot water streamed over his body. He grumbled to himself, trying not to feel so incredibly upset over what he saw as a great betrayal on the part of every member on his team. Some where inside him, there was another life growing, which he had no idea of HOW it got there. They pretty much did. Or even if they didn't, they all KNEW it was there! Did the Cadets know? He felt mortified over that possibility. IF the Cadets knew, he would never be able to show his face to them ever again. The shame... the shame... His breath caught in his throat then and the sobs he had been holding back threatened to spill. He pressed his forehead against the tiles and let the water stream over his head to wash the suds out. Who cared if salty tears mingled with the fresh water while he stood there?

Then he felt a strange fluttering sensation from low in his abdomen. Could that be IT? He pressed a hand there in shock, as the feeling grew stronger and stronger and something else came with it. A sort of coiling pleasure that after a few moments had him panting and flushed and utterly bewildered.

Dark arms suddenly wrapped around him and pulled him tightly back against another's chest. Pidge cried out, not in fear or anger, but from the very sudden spike of absolute pleasure that ran through him. "The little one recognises my presence." A very pleased man purred into Pidge's ear. Pidge did start to squirm out of the man's arms then, head butting and kicking out, trying very hard to ignore the flutterings inside him, but the man held him firm. "Come, my beloved. We shall leave this place." The man physically pulled Pidge backwards out of the still streaming jets of water, and out of the shower stall.

"Hey!" Pidge gasped, kicking out more and finding nothing to hit. His dripping feet splashed water over the floor and that was it. There wasn't even any bottles or papers or ANYTHING he could knock over. "No! Let me go!"

"Yesss..." The man hissed, never ceasing in dragging Pidge backwards, causing the first stirrings of real fear to come. "Let me hear your voice... I want to hear you scream."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Hunk waited outside Pidge's room, pacing back and forth, while Pidge had stormed inside to shower. He knew Pidge had right to be upset and angry. It just... wasn't something that happened very often. And Pidge had such a huge reason to be upset and angry over this! Hunk wanted so badly to fix it, but he didn't knew if he could.

Pidge sure seemed to be taking an awfully long time in the shower. Maybe he should go check?

No. That would just be silly. Pidge had every right to take a good, long, hot shower. Every right. There was no reason why Hunk should NEED to check.

But... Pidge HAD been awfully upset. What if he had slipped in the shower or... what if he decided that this was something he just couldn't deal with? Hunk should check!

No. Pidge wouldn't do something like that to himself. Or to them. No matter how angry or upset he would get.

But... what if his heart did that thing again? And he was lying dead in the base of that shower right now?Right. Hunk opened the door, thankful that even with how angry Pidge was, he didn't lock the door, and called out towards the closed ensuit door. "Pidge? It's Hunk. Are you alright in there?"

There was no response, just the hissing of the shower.

Hunk approached the door, pressed his ear against it and knocked. "Pidge? You okay Little Buddy?"

Still nothing.

"I hope you won't kick my ass over this, but I'm COMING IN!"

The door opened easily. The hissing from the shower was very loud running at full blast. There was even a fair bit of water on the floor. But there was no Pidge in the shower. And... the shower stall door was open. And there were Pidge's clothes- old ones in the hamper, and new ones neatly folded and stacked on the seat of the toilet, his shades and VoltCom resting on top. Hunk reached into the stall to turn off the water. It was cold. He stepped out of the stall and looked down at the mat in front of the shower. Here were slight indentations of wet feet on the dark green material, Pidge sized, toes pointing towards the shower not away from it. Tilting his head to let the light catch in the the water on the floor, Hunk saw that the water trailed in a line away from the shower and then ended halfway to the door. There were splash marks on the walls and even on the mirror. The neatly folded towel waiting beside the shower was splashed in places but otherwise dry.

With a horrible feeling in his gut, Hunk stalked to Pidge's communication terminal and fiddled with the controls. "Computer," He told it. "I want you to scan the castle and it's arterials for any sign of Green Lion Pilot Pidge."

There were a few moments while the computer did it's job. "Search ended." The computer's pleasant voice told him. "Green Lion Pilot Pidge not present anywhere in the castle or castle arterials."

Hunk swore, loud and colourfully, before raising his VoltCom to his mouth. "Calling all Lions. Pidge is missing."

To be continued...


	14. Kidnapped

30 November 2012- 23 December 2012  
Hacked  
by Zuzanny  
part 14.

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Pidge bucked and struggled against the arms holding him securely against the chest of the man who dragged him backwards, away from the light of his personal bathroom and into darkness. "Let me go!" He threw is meagre weight from side to side in an attempt to un-balance his captor, but all his moves were neatly countered. "DAMMIT!"

Pidge managed to wriggle upwards, freeing his arms, and reached out to try and grab hold of anything that could possibly help him get out of the grip. Every moment he was dragged further and further away from the light until it seamed just a window at the far end of a house. Movement on the bathroom side sent hope shooting through him as he saw who was there. "Hunk!" Pidge yelled continuing to struggle with all his might. "Help me!"

The man with the dark arms swung Pidge away from the fading light, and threw Pidge to the ground. Pidge hit cold rock hard, rolling a few times and crying out with pain shooting through his hip and elbows. But he refused to let that pain prevent him from scrambling to his feet and attempting to run past the man and back towards the light.

Arms snagged him around the waist and again threw him to the ground. Pidge kicked out, pushing his foot against the solid weight leaning over him, but unable to prevent it from getting closer.

"What do you want?" Pidge cried, pushing hard at the weight continuing to press down upon him. Every strike he made felt like he was impacting against stone.

"Enough." was growled against his ear. He actually felt the breath and movement of the mouth this time. "You will not dally with that mortal, I will no longer tolerate it. You are MINE." A large, hot hand pressed firmly against Pidge's abdomen, sending jolts of pleasure through him that made him arch up and gasp and war with the panic he was feeling. "This child is mine. If I have to, I will tear that mortal to shreds before you eyes and devour his remains to prove it. Do not test me on this unless you truly want him dead."

Pidge immediately stopped struggling and lay as still as possible with a pounding heart and terror shaken limbs. "Don't hurt him." Came the whispered plea.

The man leaned close again, grazing needle-sharp teeth against the skin of Pidge's neck, making his hair stand on end. "I have destroyed your enemies." The man said. "I have devoured their very lives and their planet. If you refuse to submit to me, I will do the same to Arus, and New Balto, and Earth, and all the planets and people you hold dear." Pidge blinked back tears, memories of Balto's destruction flashing in front of his eyes. The man snarled like an angry tiger. Pidge could feel that this man was telling the truth in what he had done, and what he threatened to do, and took shuddering, despairing breaths. The man purred, continuing to glide teeth up and down Pidge's neck. "Delicious," he murmured. Pidge's mind hysterically calculated from the feel of those teeth how quickly he would bleed to death if bitten here, or here, or here along his neck. The man chuckled. "You will not die from my bite." He reassured Pidge, then sunk those teeth deep into Pidge's neck.

Pidge screamed long and hard, thrashing about, trying to dislodge the hundreds of needles stabbing into him all at once. To his horror he could feel them pumping some kind of venom into him, and could feel it spreading, heating his blood, draining away any strength he had until he lay gasping and limp. The man retracted his bite, then took a long, slow, leisurely lick of the wound with a tongue that felt rough like a cat's.

"My friends... will come for me." Pidge forced his mouth to work, while the world was slowly spinning around him. "They won't stop looking... till they find me."

The man grinned, his teeth gleaming red with Pidge's blood. "Let them try." He lowered his body down upon Pidge's, almost crushing in his weight. "In the meantime you will provide me with many, many heirs."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
"This is all your fault!" Scaroce jabbed an accusing finger to Hunk's chest. "If you had have just handed Pidge over like you were supposed to, he'd be safe by now!"

"Remove your finger from my chest," Hunk growled in warning. "or I will remove it from your hand."

"Ha! Like you see you try! All muscle and no brains!"

"SHUT UP!" A very distressed Chip shouted, which actually worked. "Just shut up both of you!"

Scaroce shot a glare over to Chip's direction, which then turned speculative, his eyes traveling up and down the young man's form. Chip flinched and took a step backwards, hunching in on himself to try and avoid the other man's notice. Hunk found himself growling again while watching this.

"Chip is right." Grand Master Steiner brought attention back to the matter of Pidge. "What's done is done. We can't change it by blaming others. All we can do now is try to prepare for the consequences. Pidge's knowledge belongs to THEM now, what will they do now they have it?"

"What I want to know," Keith interrupted. "Is what these things really want." The ninjas just stared at him, so he elaborated. "When it boils right down, no enemy attacks just because they are 'evil'. There are basic needs that are no longer being met where they are, or they are provoked. Which is it, and what do they really want?"

"Revenge for some imagined insult?" Scaroce suggested with a shrug.

Keith waved him off with a shake of his head. "Nah, that's too easy, and usually comes back to unfulfilled basic needs. So what is it? Food? Water, air, space to expand, women, warmth? What RESOURCES are they after?"

"Yes," Princess Allura agreed. "Even King Zarkon and then Lotor started their war with the universe due to their over population that stripped their planet's resources."

"Ah," the Grand Master said. "but you are thinking like a mortal. These demons have none of the same needs we do."

"How do you know?" Keith asked. "Have you asked them?"

"Who cares!" Hunk interrupted any answer. "None of that is important. They have Pidge. I'm gonna get him back. You lot can either help me or piss off!"

"And just how are you going to get him back, hmmm?" Scaroce was doing his best to be the most annoying person in the universe right then

"I'm going to look out Zee sector to start with."

"You really ARE an idiot." Scaroce scoffed. "There's nothing out Zee sector. Not even remains of the planet."

"Oh?" Hunk raised an eyebrow. "That's where you are wrong. A few years ago Pidge and I put an unmanned satellite out there to help monitor for interplanetary threats. We KNOW what was there. We were present when it happened. Don't you think it's odd to assume that NOTHING remains? Besides, that's where this all stared." The ninjas all turned thoughtful at that. Hunk continued, "I dunno of Keith or Allura told you yet, but just before you lot got here all our search engines were hijacked. Guess where they all focussed?"

"But we have also searched the area." The Grand Master insisted. "There is nothing there. Not even a black hole."

"Just like planet Doom."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Hunk did all his best thinking while making things. It made no difference if it were food or robotics, the creative action would help him process and plan. So now he was in the kitchen with Chip, making hot chocolates, and planning his little expedition out to Zee sector, that would hopefully end as a rescue mission. Chip was seated on the bench in the same spot Pidge had been earlier that night, but was no where near as relaxed. Hunk paused in his mixing of concoctions into the two awaiting mugs to take in the visuals. Chip's hair was still a long messy mop, the way Pidge's had been up until a couple years ago, and he wore a slightly different colour shades. His face was ghastly pale, his eyes down and averted, his shoulders were slumped. He didn't kick his legs at all like Pidge did, he looked wound tight and desperate and not just because his brother was missing and possibly being tortured and who-knows-where.

Hunk poured milk into the saucepan and turned on the burner. "Alright kid," he said while stirring with a wooden spoon. "spill."

Chip turned wide eyes to him before darting about nervously. "I-I don't know-"

"Scaroce's a big fat jerk." Hunk took a guess. "I don't like him. I don't like the way he looked at Pidge, and I don't like the way he looks at you."

Chip closed his eyes and hunched into himself more. "I don't like him either," Chip admitted quietly, turning anguished eyes to his friend. "but what am I to do? I have no right to refuse."

"You can if you find someone else." Hunk reminded him.

Chip snorted. "Who? YOU? No offense Hunk, but even if polygamy was legal on Arus OR Balto, you're just not my type."

"Lance aint going anywhere."

Chip went bright red and blinked startled eyes at him. Hunk nodded with satisfaction at the state of the hot milk and then poured it into the waiting mugs. He handed one to Chip, who accepted it and took a long sip. "Mmm..." Chip vocalised. "That's really nice."

"Yeah," Hunk turned his face away and his voice choked up. "Pidge really likes this."

"I can see why!" Chip continued to drink his down.

"I try to make it for him when he forgets to eat." Hunk regained his composure and went to pick up his mug... only it was not there.

"Are you sure he doesn't "forget to eat" just so you make will it for him?"

Hunk didn't answer, he was busy turning his head back and forth, and even retraced his steps through the kitchen. "That's really weird."

"What's wrong?"

"I put my drink down, now I can't find it."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Pidge curled around his knees, blowing warm breath on fingers clutched to his chest, trying to conserve warmth and not think about IT.

/Don't think about IT don't think about it!/

He had no idea how long he had been in this black space, but long enough to feel desperately hungry and thirsty. The hunger had turned to nausea, which he fought back by controlling his breathing and lowering his heart rate. He wondered if he would soon lose all sensation in his finger and toes, and that they would die from frost bite and drop off... or if the blood poisoning from frost bite would kill him? Frost bite had always been a potential hazard of space travel, and where ever this was, it was so very cold. Having been still wet from the shower on arrival had not helped. His hair was still wet, sometimes dripping icy cold on his neck and shoulders, which would wake him if he were just about to drift to sleep, which was dangerous enough as it was. The only warmth from this place was - /Don't think about it! Don't think about it! Calm your heart back down. Conserve yourself. Hypothermia is not an option!/

He pressed his face to his knees, not even bothering to open his eyes anymore. It was too dark. He was too tired, too cold, in too much pain to even try and explore the space he was in. Would his team mates be ashamed of him for not trying harder? Turning his thoughts to Hunk made his heart ache. His last words to his friend had been angry and hurt-filled. Would Hunk even bother looking for him? Or would it all prove to be too hard, and would they give up? Would he die here, starved and dehydrated and frozen and -/Don't think about it!/ Would they still keep looking, but he be long dead by the time they find him?

A fluttering him his belly told him HE was back, and sent Pidge scrambling backwards until he was pressed hard against an ice-cold wall, heart pounding in panic.

"You can not hide your thoughts from me." HE sounded amused, and moved closer. "It has been a long time since I have entertained mortals. I had forgotten some of your frailties. Open your eyes."

"No." Pidge said before he could stop himself, then panicking, forced them open, having to squeeze them shut and blink back tears as the tiny ball of light HE was balancing on his finger tips, burned dazzling blue-white. After a few moments Pidge tried again and soon was able to look at the light without too much pain. After being in the dark so long, it was so beautiful to see. Pidge slowly crawled forwards, eyes glued to that light. HE crouched down, bringing the light closer. When Pidge was close enough, he reached out a trembling hand to touch it, but HE jerked it away, tisking like he was a naughty child. "You must come to me first."

Pidge froze, staring up at the light, trying to decide. He thought he could hear Keith's voice in his head. /Recognize this for what this is,/ Keith's voice was saying, although he knew it was really his own self. /No one lasts long with desensitization. He WILL break you, it's just a matter of time. First rule, survive. There is no shame in doing what you have to in order to survive./ Pidge took a deep, steadying breath, and slowly crawled into those waiting arms, which wrapped around him and drew him up like he was a child sitting on his father's lap, and all Pidge could think right then was "Light and warmth!"

"Very good," HE purred into Pidge's ear, which made him shiver, and placed the little light ball into Pidge's hands. It was warm, like it was alive, small enough that Pidge could close one hand around it if he wanted to, and it was so very pretty. How did it work? Pidge couldn't really touch it like it was an object, but it was there. Sort of like the light was all drawn into one space without any physical container. Pidge tilted his head to the side, his curiosity setting his mind into a million questions and calculations. As a side note, Pidge thought it was interesting how quickly his panic settled when his curiosity was engaged. Pidge could feel how pleased HE was, and actually risked looking up into that white face with the swirling black eyes.

"Do you make the light yourself?" He asked his captor. "Is it magic or is it some kind of technology?"

The man chuckled. "Light manipulation is but one of the many things I can do if I wish. This light is a reflection of the closest star." HE pressed a long fingered hand to his own chest in the area where a human heart would be.

"How do you get it here, like this?" Pidge turned the sphere about, stroking it like it was a cat, warming his fingers all over.

The man leaned close to breath in Pidge's ear "It's a secret."

Pidge jerked with surprise, but HE didn't move to do anything more, just supply the light and the heat. Focussing on the light helped setting Pidge's nerves again. "How long will it last?"

"As long as I want it to."

Pidge's stomach growled loudly, and again he felt a wave of nausea. The man reached into the darkness with one hand, and on pulling back came the smell of hot chocolate. Pidge moaned, his mouth watering. HE offered what sure looked and smelled like hot chocolate to Pidge. Pidge took the plastic mug-

/Plastic mug?/

-from those long fingers and took a slow gulp of the wonderful hot stuff. It had a dash of cinnamon and mint, just the way that Hunk would make it for him. Pidge blinked back tears, trying not to think about his friend while HE was present, and frowned unto the mug, swirling the thick, dark liquid about. "Thank you." He whispered. "Where did you get this from?"

HE just grinned, and then let his hands wander which made Pidge inhale mid swallow in shock. Pidge choked and coughed, splashing warmth over himself, which quickly chilled on his skin. He curled in on himself, instinctively clamping his legs together and flinching away from HIS touch. "Ah, my beloved..." HE murmured into Pidge's ear. "why do you evade my touch? You enjoyed it full well earlier."

Pidge shuddered and flushed with shame of truth, his mind sending flashes of memories that made his heart pound and breath quicken. Pidge desperately tried to think of other things, but the memories of those fingers sliding over his skin, of that mouth, those teeth... and everything else that came with HIM refused to go away. Pidge clutched the ball of light tighter. Already he could feel himself slipping.

Abruptly the world shifted, HE lifted and turned Pidge like he was a child, and Pidge found himself being laid down on a familiar bed in a room that while dark, was also familiar. HE took the mostly empty mug away from Pidge, and reached across to place it on the bedside table, followed by the globe - which Pidge struggled to let go of, then followed with his eyes. Everywhere the light touched in this room there were flowers coating everything. Angry, vengeful, hateful flowers. Except the matrice he was lying on. HE had ripped the covers off before lying Pidge down. Pidge wanted to close his eyes and turn his face in the familiar scent coating the pillows, but didn't dare. He pulled his eyes away from the light, to look back to HIM, the glow reflected in the swirling blackness of HIS eyes as HE leaned over Pidge, smirking with satisfaction.

"Why?" Pidge asked, his voice cracking.

"You're despair is delicious," HE continued to run long fingertips over the exposed area of Pidge's throat, lingering over the bite mark that was already healed over. "but so are other things."

to be continued...


	15. A Beast In Lambs Clothes

29/12/2012 - 04/01/2013  
Hacked  
by Zuzanny  
part 15

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
They were almost ready to jump into the lions with a ninja on board each and rush out to Zee sector when Grand Master Steiner raised his hand and halted their progress.

"Just a moment," He said. "there is one more thing I want to check. Something that has been bothering me." Then he span on the spot and walked back the way they had just come from. The Voltron Force all exchanged glances, having conversations with their eyes. With a roll of his eyes and a shrug at Keith's commanding raised eye brow, Lance turned to follow the ninja master.

"Come one," He tagged both Chip and Hunk while passing them, and they too followed.

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Daniel and Larmina were being left behind. Again. "To guard the castle". Again.

"This SUCKS!" Larmina groused, putting her feet up on the console she was seated in front of. Daniel just grunted while he scrolled through some boring report about something that was probably important to the security of Arus or whatever, but Larmina didn't care. "This is so BORING!" She tipped backwards in her chair, stretching her arms over her head. "YOU'RE so boring!" she turned her head to look at the young man who normally would be falling over himself in attempts to gain her attention. But he wasn't even trying. In fact he hadn't for... a while now. Like weeks even. It was weird.

"So Pidge going missing doesn't bother you at all?" He didn't even look away from what ever it was he was concentrating on. "The fact he was taken from within the protection of the castle doesn't..." he did look at her then, with a lazy sort of grin that hooded his eyes. "excite you?"

Larmina bolted upright in her chair.

Daniel's grin increased, showing off teeth. "Does it not SCARE you, even the tiniest bit?"

"We don't know he was taken anywhere." Larmina insisted. "He probably just went for a walk and forgot to say something. He and Hunk DID just have an argument after all."

"Oh?" Daniel drew it out, turning his eyes back to the charts and things before him. That grin was starting to get creepy to tell the truth, but she wasn't going to admit it. "Yeah." She said instead.

"Do you really think the Lions would be called to action to search for Pidge if he had simply... "gone for a walk"? Oh, you are such a naive little thing. It's adorable really, but stupid."

Larmina glared at Daniel, but he was back to ignoring her and staring at the scrolling screen. She actually looked at it, and was able to recognise the scrolling symbols from all the times she had seen Pidge doing his technical-computer-programming -crap with Voltron's system. "What are you doing?!"

Daniel chuckled. "Something devious." He replied, tapping away at the controls.

"Wait," Larmina leaned over his shoulder. "you're hacking into the Voltron mainframe! Since when have you been able to do that? I thought only Vince and Pidge had access!"

"Yeeeeeeesss..." Daniel hissed through his teeth and then stood to face her, his head tilted to the side in a very un-Daniel-like way. "Funny things, your thoughts." He said, slowly stepping closer to her, which made her step back with a bit of confusion, a bit of fear, which was ridiculous really. Daniel ran his tongue over the sharp edges of his teeth, the glint in his eyes started to raise the hair on the back of her neck. "So scattered," He continued. "so easily panicked over the smallest things." He reached out to touch her face, and Larmina distinctly through INFECTED ZOMBIE by the hang of those fingers. He chuckled, then breathed "So NOTHING like Pidge." Larmina flinched. Daniel continued to reach that dead-like hand out towards her and grabbed hold of her uniform to pull her close to whisper in her ear "We're coming to GET you Larmina."

Larmina jerked out of his hold, her heart suddenly pounding with fright. A sudden chill came over her and she sat heavily on the floor as though her knees lost all strength to hold her up. Then it was like the ice had formed over her, keeping her locked like that, unable to move.

And Daniel laughed in a nasty, spiteful way, before returning to his seat and continuing fiddling with the Voltron programing.

"Why are you doing this?" She managed to grind out through chattering teeth.

Daniel flashed her another chilling smile. "Because it's fun!"

The door slid open and Grand Mater Steiner strode in with Hunk, Lance and Chip following behind. "Excuse the intrusion," Steiner said casually before flinging something at Daniel's face. Daniel shrieked, both hands clutching at his forehead, tendrils of smoke curling from between his fingers. He fell to the floor rolling about, shrieking and tugging at his face like he was on fire, which Larmina thought he must have been for such a reaction. Which a shocked blink she found she could move freely again, so jumped to her feet and backed away into the solid strength that was Lance.

"Stop this infernal racket, Demon, and tell us where Pidge is!" Steiner commanded. Instantly Daniel stopped shrieking and started laughing instead, long and crazed and sinister. He peeked through his fingertips up at the Grand Master.

"So you caught me." He chuckled. "Took you long enough."

"What the HELL?" Lance glanced between Steiner and Daniel, who was still on the floor, giggling like an insane person. His eyes widened when he took in the program Daniel had been fiddling with. "Daniel?" Lance struggled to find the right questions to ask, the betrayal was such a shock. Daniel's eyes turned towards him, hands lowering to reveal a strip of paper -with some kind of kanji written in what looked like dried blood- still attached to his forehead.

"I'm afraid Daniel can't come to the phone right now," Daniel said so sweetly it was chilling. "he's busy being consumed by Rage and Fear. Shall I take a message?"

"Release Daniel right now!" Steiner demanded. "And tell us where Pidge is!"

Those eyes rolled back to Steiner. "Now why would I want to do that? You mortals are so amusing, so entertaining. You're fear is delicious, despair so tasty. Why would I want to leave such an ongoing feast?"

Steiner grabbed Daniel by the lapels, lifting him to growl into his face. "Because you are nothing without a host to contain you, and killing a host is not beyond me."

Daniel pouted, his bottom lip sticking out like he was a child. But he didn't look particularly worried. "You're no fun." He complained, then grinned again. "And you're wrong! You are so, completely wrong!" He began his manic laughter again.

"How is he wrong?" Hunk asked.

The laughter instantly stopped and those eyes fell on Hunk with such hatred that all present wanted to take a step backwards. "You." Was growled out.

"Me." Hunk replied, thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Huh. Not exactly the answer I was expecting, but-"

Daniel made a short snorting laugh, and tilted his head to the other side as though considering. Then his mouth spread into a wide grin. "Yeeessss..." Daniel hissed. "It is fitting that The One who would dare attempt to claim my Lord's Beloved should know." He paused. "Once, this 'magic'" he spat the word at Steiner. "was enough to contain us. Once upon a time the mortals thought to enslave us and imprison us. But not now. The Beloved's mind is sweet, gentle, delicious. His knowledge has freed us from your confines."

"If that is so," Steiner sneered. "Why are you compelled to tell us what we ask?"

Daniel tittered. "Nothing COMPELS me. I simply want to see the looks on your faces when you discover what is in HIS room!" he indicated to Hunk again.

"You mean all those flowers?" Hunk asked, unimpressed. "Apart from making the place stink like potpourri-"

"No," Daniel interrupted with such a smug expression that Hunk wanted to lash out at him just to make it stop. "Check again!"

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Hunk shoved his door to the side in his haste to get into his room, his fist impacting with the light switch to turn it on. The place was still coated with those stinking yellow flowers, except the bed which had the covers stripped and dumped on the floor. Even from the door way he could see the stains on his sheet, and that was enough to tell him what had happened here. The over turned mug that spilled a chocolate drink across the floor also told tales. Hunk took in a steadying breath, against the pain in his heart, clenching his fists at his sides and turned towards a grinning Daniel who was being dragged along by the ninja Grand Master.

"Ahh... there it is!" Daniel remarked blissfully.

Hunk yanked Daniel from Steiner's hold and shoved him hard against the wall. "Where. Is. Pidge?" Hunk ground out.

"Somewhere being thoroughly fucked."

Hunk shoved him hard against the wall again.

"And he LIKES it." Daniel purred as though his head had not just been smacked hard against a wall. "How does that make you feel? Knowing that my Lord is filling him with such pleasures, and he LIKES it, and you will never, ever, ever get the chance to do the same?"

"SHUT UP!" Hunk shoved Daniel hard against the wall again, this time there was blood splattered against the wall where Daniel's head hit, and Steiner wrestled a laughing Daniel from Hunk's hold.

"Don't listen to him." Steiner raised his voice over the top of Daniel's laughter. "He's just trying to wind you up. You will only end up hurting Daniel, not the beast."

With a pained roar, Hunk threw Daniel to Steiner's feet and stalked away from his room, wiping tears from his eyes. Daniel's eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp. Steiner drew another strip of paper from a hidden gauntlet, holding it ready over Daniel's chest this time, then looked up at Lance and Chip who were just standing there staring in shock.

"Don't be idiots," Steiner snapped at them. "go after him. I can deal with this brat."

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Hunk stormed blindly along the halls of the castle, willing his feet to keep going, and not really caring about what direction he was headed. Rage and absolute grief ate at his heart and his gut. He wanted to scream, to smash walls down, to grab Daniel by the neck and squeeze and squeeze and squeeze until his head popped off... It would make a very satisfying noise, he was sure. But it would only kill Daniel, not the fucker in his head saying the shit he was saying. /If only I hadn't pissed Pidge off!/ Hunk thought bitterly. /He would not have been alone, I could have DONE something and he would be safe. But now... now.../ Hunk's breath hitched, his imagination filling in horrible blanks for him.

He had no idea how long he walked for, but eventually Hunk's feet slowed down until he found himself with his head pressed against some random stone corner. He bowed his head against the cold stone, and let the bubbling pain out, sobbing loudly unto his hands. "I'm so sorry!"

"Hunk?" Hunk looked up, and for a moment joy filled him with the sight of Pidge standing in the hall with him... but then he really took in the young man, and realised it was not Pidge, but Chip instead. His heart sank once more. Behind Chip came Lance. "Are you alright?" Chip asked, hesitating in coming closer, but clearly wanting to.

"He's right you know," Hunk said, much to Chip's confusion. "it is my fault Pidge was taken. If I had just let you lot do what you had come to do, Pidge would be..." His voice cracked. "here."

"But he IS here." Chip whispered, stepping past Hunk, removing his shades and staring up into eyes of the waiting Green Lion.

"Wha?" Hunk stared at Chip, wiping his face with his arm and actually looked about himself. The stone walls shone with a rippling blue, like sunlight reflected on water. Above the rock walls stood huge trees, their branches so thick and entwined that they blocked out the sky above. They were in the resting place of The Green Lion, and instead of being in the castle hanger where he had been left along with the rest of the Lions, Green Lion himself also waited. Chip reached up an arm, and the giant robot lowered it's head down as though to get a tiny scratch under his chin.

"Hello, Midonjishi." Chip breathed, smiling dreamily, his green eyes glowing in the rippling light. "Can you help us find Pidge?" A low rumbling came from within the Lion, and the giant body lowered, his mouth opening to permit entrance. Chip turned to incline his head at Hunk and Lance, and then walked inside.

Once inside, Lance leaned over Chip, who was strapping himself into the pilot's seat. "Hang on, the Lion's can't just go where ever the hell we want them to." He insisted. "You need the key!"

Chip grinned up at him and placed the key in question into the slot.

"Where did you get that?!" Lance sounded scandalized, and some what impressed at the same time.

"What can I say?" Chip smirked. "I'm a ninja. Now, I suggest you buckle up."

Lance and Hunk scrambled to do so as Midonjishi turned to run out of his lair and launched into the atmosphere.

"I give you the job of telling Keith." Hunk told Lance.

Lance used some colorful language, and then did so, which was just as well. Keith was himself cursing every second word while describing how the navigational system on all the other lions had been messed up by Daniel's little "visitor", and Vince couldn't seem to figure out how to fix it.

"It's like they can't figure out where the ground is against the sky!" Keith exclaimed. "If Steiner hadn't insisted that Daniel had been possessed when he did this, I would have run the little shit through!"

Hunk nodded his head with understanding, while Lance whistled at that admission.

"How is it that Green isn't affected?" Keith asked. "Do you think it's on purpose?" Both older pilots turned their heads to look back at Chip, who was staring intently out into space in front of him, busily piloting.

"It's possible." Lance replied. "But even so, it seems like Chip and Green know where we're going."

"I hope you're right." Keith sighed. "We'll do what we can on this end. At least we can track your progress with the Ninjas' systems. He's buggered the search engine as well."

"Oh, Pidge is going to be so pissed when he finds out!" Lance said gleefully.

"Yes." Keith said gravely. "Bring him home."

To be continued...


	16. Little One

25/01/2013- 20/02/2013

WARNING! THIS IS A DARK CHAPTER!

Hacked

by Zuzanny

part 16

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Afterwards, Pidge lay shamefully sated and absolutely limp. He panted for air, his heart pounding, and turned his head to the side to relax into the pillows. He closed his eyes and deeply inhaled Hunk's scent.

HE growled deep from his throat and sharply yanked Pidge's head back by the hair at the top of his head. Pidge cried out, clawing at the fingers trying to rip his hair out, and kicked out uselessly. Without another word, Pidge was yanked up and off of the bed and thrown through darkness. He hit a solid cold rock floor, rolled a few times, then looked about himself with hysteria at the absolute darkness around him once more. Pidge scrambled around until he found a wall and pulled himself upright, looking desperately for any source of light.

"Nooo..." He moaned, his breath hitching. "What did I do?" He yelled with a cracking voice.

"You thought of HIM!" was accused directly into his mind with enough force that it was like a physical blow.

"But I didn't mean to!" Pidge yelled back, scratching and pounding at the rock wall in front of him. "It's not fair of you to do... THIS to me in Hunk's room and not have me even THINK OF HIM! It's CRUEL! YOUR'E CRUEL!"

There was silence.

"DAMMIT! Don't do this! Let me out! Don't leave me in here! PLEASE!"

Still there was no reply.

Pidge closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the rock, breathing heavily. "Okay, fine." he snapped before stepping away from the wall and sinking into a meditative position, concentrating on calming his breathing and heart. Once they were sufficiently slow, he extended his hearing to listen to the world around him. He could feel the pressure of the small space on his ears, and with absolute stillness he felt the slight shift on his skin that told him there was at least some airflow, so he didn't have to worry about THAT at least. There was less pressure from above, which told him there was some space there. He may be in a tall room or even a mine shaft really. Extending his arms out fully from his sides had his fingertips just brushing walls on either side. Very calmly now, Pidge rose to his feet and began exploring the space. Once he had found an actual corner, his belly fluttered, which almost had him panicking, expecting HIS return. But that didn't happen. Instead Pidge felt a sense of innocent curiosity floating out to touch his mind. He actually gasped with shock and needed to lean against the cold stone so that he didn't sink to his backside, while placing his palms against his own abdomen. WARMTH and HAPPINESS and LOVE floated up, he could almost hear words in it all, like there was some kind of echolocation involved.

/Or a MIND!/ Pidge realised with a start. He had no idea that such a thing was possible. /It's not just alive, it's SCENTIENT!/ and it didn't seem at all malicious right now. Pidge wondered if it would stay that way, and if HE had started out as an innocent like this? /Can you hear me?/ Pidge tried to think directly to it, and held his breath while waiting.

/Of course./ floated back in feelings. Pidge mused that this mind was far more advanced than would be normal for a... life... of the age he calculated this one to be.

/Do you... know... who or what your are?/ Pidge immediately regretted thinking that question. As if a thing this young could answer it anyway.

But bemusement floated to him along with /I am your child./

Pidge took in a sharp breath, his eyes widening at the sudden influx of protectiveness he felt towards the the little thing. He realised it didn't matter HOW it had gotten there, this life WAS his child and deserved to be loved and protected. "What's your name?" He winced with how jarring even that whisper had been in this small space.

Pidge felt the impression of a little one tilting his head to the side and blinking at him. /You haven't given me one./

Pidge frowned. /That's not right little one, every child needs a name./

He felt warmth, like smiles. /I like that name. Little One./

Pidge lowered himself to the ground in the corner, leaning back against the walls and drawing his knees up to his chest. "Well, Little One," He whispered into the darkness, sliding his hands back over his flat abdomen. "It looks like it's just you and me right now." So Pidge began to talk, telling Little One stories of his adventures on the Voltron Force, of his friends, and even memories of the original Balto. Little One soaked them in eagerly, especially asking for more stories of Hunk. So with a smile, Pidge complied.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

"Alright," Lance snarked while Chip flew the Green Lion as though he had been born to do so. "I think it's time you told me what the hell is going on." Chip blinked slowly, but otherwise continued to concentrate and stare into the blackness of space ahead. Lance leaned out of his chair to squawk into Chip's ear, "Oi! I'm talking to you!"

"Leave him alone." Hunk grumbled, curled up in the co-pilot's seat. "Can't you see he's busy?"

Lance rounded on Hunk. "Can YOU tell me what's going on then?"

Hunk shrugged. "Pidge has been kidnapped by Balton demons who are right this moment doing..." He took in a shuddering breath through his teeth. "very bad things to him." Then he galvanised himself. "We are going to rescue him!"

"Riiiiiight." It was only the very recent events with Daniel that allowed Lance to accept the story about the identity of Pidge's kidnappers. "And just how are we going to do that?"

"I don't know yet, but we will!" Hunk insisted, his eyes flashing with an inner fire.

"Pidge?!" Chip suddenly asked the air before him, which caused both the older men to turn and look. Chip was leaning forward in his chair, reaching out to touch something that wasn't there. He urgently said, "We're coming for you!" then jumped out of his seat to scramble and climb up the control panels. "PIDGE!"

Lance grabbed Chip around his middle and pulled him back off of the controls before anything could be knocked out of alignment. Hunk rushed forward to lean desperately to look out the front window for any sign of anything except stars and random space junk. There was nothing.

Chip panted with how worked up he had gotten, then blinked as he felt the breath puffing in his ear and against his neck, sending tingles down his spine. He realised he was seated on Lance's lap, pulled tightly into his arms and felt his face heat right up. Slowly Chip turned his head to look back and up. "Uh, Lance?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

There was a few moments of silence before Lance asked, "This is all because Pidge has got girl-bits, right?"

Chip just wanted to curl up and die right then. Instead of speaking, he just nodded his head.

"Does that mean, since you're his twin, you've got some too?"

Chip ducked his head with shame, whispering, "All Baltons do."

"Reeeeeally?" Lance drew it out, his voice telling of the devious contemplation he was partaking in, sounded far more interested then he really should be. Chip tried to stand, but Lance held him in place. "Tell me more..." Lance insisted, grinning lecherously.

Hunk decided he would put on his head phones and take control of the flying for a while.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Little One had fallen asleep. Pidge felt the sensation of contentment floating around, and tried to take comfort in the presence. But it was hard in this darkness. So he concentrated on imagining he was actually meditating in Midonjishi's cockpit, floating among the vast sea of stars in deep space. The twinkling points of light helped him relax. He was safe in his Lion. Midonjishi was warm and familiar and purred with his presence. The stars were beautiful and peaceful.

"Pidge?!" Chip asked from Midonjishi's cockpit. Pidge turned from gazing at the stars to look at his brother, heart rejoicing at the sight of him. Chip reached out urgently towards him, as though trying to grab hold of him somehow. "We're coming for you!"

Pidge smiled with relief and sudden renewal of hope... until his belly fluttered, Little One startled awake, and those thick black arms wound around his chest, yanked him back into darkness and against that body. A satisfied "Excellent!" was purred into his ears.

"NO!" Pidge lashed out at HIM, his anger making him unafraid of breaking his own bones as he punched and kicked as hard as he could. "LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE YOU BASTARD!"

HE just laughed mockingly. "Try to stop me."

With a cry of fury, Pidge threw himself at HIM, fingers reaching for HIS throat with deadly intent. "I WONT LET YOU TOUCH HIM!"

HE just smirked and grabbed hold of Pidge's wrists, lifting him completely off of the ground. Pidge kicked out, using HIS torso as foot holds to climb and push as hard as he could with his legs, continuing to claw his fingers towards HIS throat. Pidge didn't care about the tearing of skin or the blood flowing from his wrists in the monster's crushing grip, he was so angry. He let his mind empty of all thought and let ninja instinct take over, a deadly calm settling over him. Pidge felt HIM shift with slight unease, then without any warning, Pidge slammed the heal of his foot into HIS teeth with enough force to snap some and send them flying into the shadows. Instantly HIS grip on Pidge's wrists failed. Pidge pushed off HIS chest, flipping backwards and landing in a defensive crouch.

"Impressive," HE hissed, grinning through bared and bloody fangs, wiping HIS mouth with the back of HIS hand. HE also fell into a stance, ready to fight, an excited gleam in his eyes. "but can you do it again?"

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Daniel groaned as he came to awareness with a pounding head. He desperately wished he could do back to sleep, or die. Preferably die. His head throbbed, sharp stabbing pains shot through his neck and down his back with even the slightest turn of his head, and something like crawling spider webs was sliding over the skin of his arm. And best of all, he was starting to think he was going to vomit. He whimpered as the pain and the nausea grew more intense, tears started to spill from his eyes. He really wanted his Mommy right then.

"Here," A man said gently, touching his hand. There was a slight stinging sensation from the back of his hand, then coolness running under his skin, and the pain and nausea started to ease off. It was like someone had clamped a block of ice around his head, and now it was starting to melt. "That should help." The man said.

Daniel sighed with relief and cracked open one eye, quickly shutting it again when focussing made his stomach roll. "What's going on?" He asked.

"You have a concussion." The man said. "I'm sorry, but I will have to shine some light into your eyes now, and it will hurt."

"Do you HAVE to?" Daniel whined.

"Yes." The man replied, then went through the process of assessing, stabbing light directly into Daniel's brain, and asking him questions about his name, where he was, and the date. All of which had Daniel concerned for the man's mental health. "Hmmm..." The man commented once he had finished. "I guess you will live." Daniel thought he sounded amused.

"So you a doctor?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, but not just medical. I'm not surprised if you don't remember me. You were possessed when we met."

"WHAT?!"

"Thankfully, that is no longer the case. But you will have to keep wearing the talisman around your neck just to be safe. Once you are recovered enough I will be able to release you from your bonds."

"My BONDS?"

"Yes. Now, you were injured during the exorcism, so please let me know if your limbs don't all work the way they should."

"The FUCK!?"

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Grand Master Steiner closed the cell door behind him with a satisfied yet exhausted smile at Keith.

"Is it gone?" Keith asked.

"Withdrawn or cast back to it's home." Steiner replied. "We couldn't capture it." He looked down to the stone jar he carried. "I will say all clear, for now." He then pointed at the strip of paper baring the blood-written kanji attached to the cell door. "Keep this in place, however. Perhaps it would be wise to also ward the entire castle."

"Good idea." Keith nodded. "Can we ward the Lions as well?"

Steiner considered it. "That may be harder, but I don't see why not. We will also prepare talisman for the inhabitants of the castle as well. Just in case."

(InsertLineBreakHere)

It had been a short fight really. HE had easily breached Pidge's defences and swept Pidge's feet out from under him. Pidge had twisted as he fell, kicking out to push HIM away, but HE had simply caught Pidge's ankle in one hand and let Pidge's impact with the ground wind him. Pidge struggled with all his might, but HE had quickly pinned him to the ground, hands over his head, legs held still with HIS body weight. Pidge thrashed, refusing to give in. HE just watched, amused, and waited for Pidge to tire himself out.

"I HATE YOU!" Pidge yelled defiantly before he had to stop from exhaustion, panting heavily.

"Oh, I KNOW." HE purred with delight.

Pidge gasped when he felt the rock beneath him shift like it was alive, and then HE forced his hands down into it before it solidified again, trapping him in place. Pidge arched his neck to try and look, tugging uselessly. His entire hands past his wrists were encased in solid rock. He couldn't even twitch his fingers. HE then shifted backwards, prying Pidge's thighs apart to settle between them, hooking HIS arms under his knees. Pidge grit his teeth and turned his head away in grim anticipation, but was shocked when instead of doing what was expected, HE leaned down to press lips right in the middle of Pidge's abdomen. Pidge let out a shriek, his back arching off of the ground as absolute pleasure shot through his body again and again and again, until it verged on pain.

"STOP IT!" Pidge begged with tears in his eyes, Little One fluttered around inside him with panic. "Please, STOP IT!"

HE smiled against Pidge's skin. "I think it's time to meet this 'Little One' in person." This time something different shot though Pidge that had Little One crying out and trying to escape. Something that Pidge felt start to swell deep within himself, like a balloon being filled with water, and then even more water. Pidge kicked out, trying to escape HIS hold, groaning as he felt his insides being shifted and twisted, something pushing them out of the way. He felt icy pain and tingles shoot down his leg as the blood flow was cut off, and pressure growing against his bladder and bowel. Pidge continued to twist about as the swelling went on, the skin of his belly growing tight, stretching until he was sure he would split open, expanding from with in.

"NnnngH!" He cried out, as bile came gushing up his throat. He almost choked on it, but HE grabbed hold of his chin and turned his head to the side to let the vomit spray out to pool by his face until there was nothing left to evacuate.

Little One thrashed about, terrified with what was happening to him, his body growing and his movements were clearly visible from within the large swelling that was Pidge's pregnant belly.

"Yessssss..." HE hissed with pleasure, letting Pidge's knees drop and running HIS large, hot hands over the taunt skin, enjoying the feeling of Little One kicking out and and rolling about. HIS eyes gleamed as he pressed fingers against little elbows or knees.

"Please..." Pidge whimpered.

"My Lord," HER voice interrupted. HE growled and turned his head towards HER. Pidge lay limp, panting and feeling faint while Little One sobbed into his head. SHE cast her eyes over the form of a heavily pregnant Pidge sprawled out helpless under her Lord, and smiled with satisfaction. But HE was impatient. "Shieki was detected and cast out."

HE snorted. "As to be expected. Now leave us. I want to see how many heirs I can pull from My Beloved before our guests arrive."

"No," Pidge gasped in horror. "No!"

The red woman known as Aka Shingai bowed low and backed away into the shadows, watching as her Lord turned hungrily back to his cowering captive and bent over him once more.

"No! No! NO!" Pidge cried out.

Aka Shingai smiled as Pidge's agonised screams then filled the air.

To Be Continued...

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Shieki – Enslavement.


	17. Lance and Chip TALK

19 November 2012- 04 March 2013

Hacked

by Zuzanny

part 17

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HE Leaned in close to press his lips against Pidge's closed eye lids, whispering, "That's enough." then leaning back. Pidge made no response as the rock once again became like living liquid, and this time flowed up over him, coming solid once more when he was completely enclosed. HE looked at the clear diamond encasing The Beloved within, preserved and perfect forever, and grinned baring broken fangs. With a simple call of HIS will, a globe of pure white light formed in HIS hands, highlighting the dark bruise-like smudged under Pidge's closed eyes. The HE set the light in place, floating in the air above to light Pidge's form. "Rest well."

Then HE left, and there was only silence.

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
"So tell me more!" Lance said somewhat lecherously.

"Uhm," Chip blushed. "Can I get off your lap first?"

"What's wrong with my lap? I've been told it's quite... comfortable."

Chip launched himself to his feet, span and was about to give Lance a few short words (and possibly a few jabs to the nose as well), but then he saw the amusement held within those eyes, and took a calming breath instead. Lance seemed to pick up on his unease, and leaned forward, his smile fading a bit.

"You know I would never hurt you, right, Kid?"

Chip searched to his center. "It's hard." Lance immediately glanced down at his own crotch with a panicked expression that made Chip laugh. "I mean it's hard to talk about."

"Phew," Lance relaxed back into his seat. "explaining THAT one to Allura would be messy."

"What is it between you two anyway?" Chip seated himself on the edge of a technical do-dad. Lance sighed.

"Complicated is what it is. When Keith was AWOL I thought things between us were... well, pretty damn fine. But I always knew she was carrying a torch for him, ya know? Just wanted to ignore it. I think she tried to ignore it as well, but she kept coming up with excuse after excuse as to why we couldn't be together. And like a dog begging for scraps I kept at it and she let me, never actually saying no or anything. Then Keith comes back and I sure know where I stand now."

"Do you think they-" Chip made a vague motion in the air. Lance shook his head no.

"Nah. Keith's the kind of guy who wants to marry first."

"Unlike you?"

Lance gave Chip a solute with his finger tips. "Touche'."

Chip wrapped arms around himself and looked away from Lance. "I think I can sort of understand her feelings. She's in a position of power and duty, and one day will have to produce heirs for her line."

"And no stray dog will do?" Lance spat.

"No," Chip continued gently. "But marriage is such a great commitment. When you... give up your body to partner with someone, that's for life. YOu take part of them inside you and it never leaves. It's not fair to either of you if you're not prepared to say for ever, And..."

"And I'm not." Lance answered quietly.

Chip sighed, and curled in on himself some. "It's not fair to cage a wandering spirit."

Lance tilted his head to the side, looking Chip up and down. "Who's trying to cage you, kid?" He asked.

Chip laughed in a pained sort of way, then looked back at Lance's eyes. "What do you know about Baltons?"

Lance thought this was an abrupt change in subject, but shrugged and went with it anyway. "That you're a bunch of freaky super-genius ninjas who regularly kick my butt in pretty much everything. And, apparently, you're all GIRLS, which just adds insult to injury."

Chip snorted. "We're not 'girls'."

"But you just said-"

"We have 'girl bits', yes, but we're still quite male. Those of us born male anyway."

Lance's eyes widened as devious images started running through his mind. "How does that work? Can you-" He made some crude hand gestures. "with your self?"

"No!" Chip cried with a grimace. "How could you even THINK that?"

Lance grinned. "Quite easily actually." By his expression he then seemed to drift off into his more perverted thoughts.

"Stop that!" Chip slapped his leg, bringing Lance back to the present. Lance smirked at him.

"So tell me more."

"I don't think I should, you pervert!"

Lance shrugged it off, not at all offended. "You love me anyway." Chip again blushed and spluttered while turning away. "Oh HO!" Lance crowed with surprise. "What's THIS?"

"Shut up."

"Is... it TRUE?"

"Don't flatter yourself!"

Lance took a serious look at Chip's form, his face, and another point of view over past discussions with the young man. It all took only seconds, and by the end of it Lance found himself utterly stunned. "It IS true." He breathed. "I had no idea."

"Chip looked miserable again. "I know."

"How long has that been going on for?"

Chip shrugged. "I don't know. Since forever I guess."

"And you never said anything? Wow."

"Hunk knew." Chip said. They both turned their heads to look towards the large man bopping his head to the music he was listening to via head phones. "He said... well, it doesn't matter what he said really."

"That I'd be interested?" Again Chip shrugged. Huskily Lance added, "I never said I wasn't." Chip blinked and set wide eyes at him. "But you gotta know something kid. I live life hard and fast. I have no idea if I 'll be making it home mission to mission. There's been enough times when I almost didn't, some mates of mine didn't make it themselves. I can't promise you forever."

"I wouldn't want you to."

Lance gave Chip a grin and wiggled is eye brows suggestively. "I sure can offer you some good times while we're waiting though. If you want?"

Chip mind filled him in on just what Lance was referring to, and again his face went quite red. But he hesitated. "I don't know. I wouldn't want to just... be another notch on your bed post..."

Lance leaned forward. "Hows about this. I'll stick with you as long as you want me. It's you're choice."

"How can you even decide that so easily? What if you find out you don't really like me, and that you want to leave?"

Lance tilted his head to the side. "Kid, I've known you since you were little. I've LIKED you as a person since then. I know the kind of person you are, and frankly you're very easy on the eyes. I think I could have no problem with like-liking you. More likely YOU would get sick of ME and dump this sorry bag of old bones."

Chip looked horrified at that thought.

"Of course I had no idea you could even be remotely interested in ME. Kinda kinky actually. And everyone thinks I'M the pervert!"

Chip spluttered with indignity while Lance chuckled. "But seriously , Kid. There's no need to rush things if You're not really sure which way you swing or such."

Again Chip pulled in on himself. "Yes there is," he said quietly. "When we get back to Arus, I will have to Partner with Scaroce if I don't with you."

"What's wrong with that?" Chip gave Lance such a hurt look that lance quickly added "I just want to understand."

Chip bit his lip. "What do you know about what 'Partnering' means to a Balton?"

"How about you spell it out for me. And use really really small words, I'm not a genius remember." Lance tapped his head with his fingertips.

Chip breathed in a shuddering breath, his face so red it looked quite sunburnt. "To 'Partner' with someone is to take them as your life-mate and... and... and have SEX with them!"

Lance guffawed at him. "You make it sound like it is the worst thing in the world. Say it again, go on. Say 'sex' again."

"No!"

"Aw, you are so cute when you're embarrassed. It's not that big a deal, really. Nothing to be afraid of."

"I don't care!" Chip yelled. "I don't want to be doing it with Scaroce! I don't want to be doing it with anyone except you!" Chip slammed both his hands over his mouth, looking absolutely mortified. Lance's dry and rough fingers brushing his hands startled him. Lance curled his larger hands around Chips, drawing them away from his face. Chip blinked at him, which Lance stroked his fingers against the soft skin of Chip's face, drawing him closer. Chip stared deeply into Lance's warm brown eyes, noting the different shades and flecks of colour that had always fascinated him.

"Don't worry, kid." Lance whispered, so close Chip could feel his breath. "It will all work out. You'll see."

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Hunk was doing his best to ignore what was going on behind him. With an aching heart he turned his eyes away from the reflection before him of the lithe young man so resembling Pidge, sitting in the lap of Lance and turned the music on his player up louder. If he concentrated on the stars in front of him, he could almost imagine Pidge was actually here performing live. Hunk smiled as he remembered the small smile that had spread over Pidge's face when Hunk had first confessed his deep enjoyment of Steriolactic's music. He had interpreted that it was because Pidge also liked their music but for some reason wanted to keep it a secret. Hunk had not understood then, but he had been pleased with how happy Pidge had been to play air guitar with him to the music, and dance along side him while they worked on the Lions. Even when Pidge shyly gifted Hunk with brand new copies of the music (before it hit the media even!) Hunk had not tweaked. He had just assumed Pidge had contacts. When Pidge told Larmina that he KNEW DJ Prongs, Hunk had also believed him. When Pidge had later confessed he WAS DJ Prongs, Hunk had been delighted. This had shocked Pidge, who had expected Hunk to be angry with him for keeping it a secret. Hunk hadn't even thought about that to be honest, and while reflecting upon it he realised that he could have felt hurt that for what ever reason Pidge hadn't trusted this secret with him, his best friend. But he had never actually asked how Pidge was getting his hands on the music so early, (He WAS an expert hacker after all, and sometimes deniability was the best option), and Pidge would ask him quite pointed if shy questions about what specifically Hunk liked about the music - things that would then turn up in the next song. Once again Hunk had just assumed Pidge was passing the message along, and frankly it was flattering to think his feedback could impact on such a star as DJ Prongs.

Movement in the reflection brought Hunk's attention back and he watched as Lance lead Chip towards the back of the Lion to where the single bunk room was. Hunk turned his eyes away again, taking a shuddering breath. It was none of his business what they did in there as long as they cleaned up after themselves. There was quite the possibility that Pidge would be injured and needing the space.

Once he was alone in the cockpit, Hunk turned his eyes back to the black before him and jerked with surprise. There was a child with messy brown hair and luminous green eyes suddenly standing beside him.

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Lance hummed to himself, smiling with satisfaction as he readjusted his clothes and left Chip sleeping in Green Lion's bunk. He walked back to the cockpit and flung himself into the co-pilot's chair with a grin. "Hope we didn't disturb you too mu... Hunk?"

But Hunk was not in the pilot seat. Lance quickly looked around the cockpit. There was no where else Hunk could have gone... But the space was empty.

to be continued.


	18. Hunk to the Rescue

19 November 2012- 06 March 2013  
Hacked  
by Zuzanny  
part 18

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Hunk stared at the child, who looked to be about ten years old with messy brown hair, luminous green eyes, very pale skin, and tight seamless body suit matching the colour of the Green Lion that covered everything up to his chin. The child leaned closer, standing on his toes and pushing upon the chair's arm rests with his hands to squint up at Hunk's face.

Hunk just continued to stare down at the little guy, his head swirling at how similar this kid looked to Pidge when they had first met at the flight academy all those years ago- minus the specs of course. The kid wasn't packing any weapons, but if he were anything like Pidge and Chip, weapons were not needed.

"Uh... Hi." Hunk said, turning the music off, feeling a bit unnerved with how those eyes continued to stare intently into him. "Did you stow away? You know, your mom would be really worried about you."

The child leaned closer if possible, climbing up onto the arm rests to reach out a hand towards Hunk's chest. /You're HIM!/ Hunk heard the awe spoken into his head, even though the kid's mouth didn't move. /You're really HIM!/ The kid pressed his hand against Hunk's chest, followed by his face, nuzzling away at him like a very friendly cat. Hunk grabbed hold of the kid's hands with a startled "Woah!" and pushed him back to a more respectable distance.

/You really DO smell like that!/ The kid grinned at him, showing pure white, needle-like teeth that sent Hunk's hair standing on end. But the kid didn't notice, just twisted in Hunk's hands to grip his wrist instead, tugging urgently on his arm. /Come on,/ The kid insisted. /you can't get there with this./

Hunk automatically resisted the kid's tugging. "Get where? Who are you?"

The kid turned desperate and angry eyes up at Hunk, and even stomped his foot, yanking harder. /We don't have any time! Beloved! I can't hear Beloved any more! We need you to save us!/

"What are you talking about?" Hunk snapped. "Look, I haven't got any time to be playing games."

The kid's eyes then were wide and teary. /Please?/ He spoke desperately into Hunk's mind. /I'm scared. Beloved told me about all the times you were there, how you are The Knight in Yellow Armor./ Hunk's eyes widened at that description, a sort of crawling understanding growing in his mind about just who Beloved was. Tears started dripping down the kid's face. /You were always warm and safe before. Beloved was always happy when you were there. If you don't come with me now, it may be too late!/

"Of course." Hunk whispered, standing and allowing the kid to tug him along.

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
Chip dozed lightly, feeling utterly content and satisfied. He smiled to himself as he remembered the things he and Lance had just done together, things that he would normally be incredibly embarrassed to even think about. But that was before he had experienced them. Hopefully soon he could experience them again...

"We got a problem!" Lance swung into the doorway.

Chip immediately sat up and started pulling his clothes on, all thoughts of physical pleasures wiped from his mind, followed by shame that he could have stopped thinking about his brother's plight for even one second. "What wrong?"

"Hunk's gone."

"What do you mean he's gone? Gone where?"

"I dunno. There's no place big enough on board to hide him, and no sign of any airlocks opening. He's just vanished."

Chip finished pulling his clothes on, squeezed past Lance and into into the cockpit to sit in the pilot seat. "We're still on autopilot." He started fiddling with controls. "I'm going to see what Midonjishi can tell us." He pulled up the security cameras, scrolling through the images and groaning when he saw what else had been caught on camera.

"Don't skip it, I was watching that!"

Chip made a sour face at Lance, and then continued his search until he found images of Hunk in the pilot seat bopping away to the music he was listening to. In the back ground of the image, Chip and Lance got up from their shared seat, with Lance leading Chip out of the camera range. "Oh my God," Chip groaned again as he noticed what Hunk's eyes were doing. "He was watching us."

Lance chuckled to himself. "See, I'm not the only perve around here. What was THAT?"

Chip scrolled the image back. The screen had shown a second of static, and then a child was standing in the cockpit beside Hunk's chair, staring intently up at him at him. There was no voice from this child, but clearly Hunk was interacting with it. Then the child pulled Hunk to his feet and Hunk went with the child two steps before there was another second of static, and then the cockpit was empty.

Lance breathed a curse. "Has the system been hacked some more?" When Chip did not respond, Lance turned his head towards him, and saw his pale face. "What is it?"

"I think..." Chip swallowed. "Hunk was just kidnapped by the demons."

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/Where... am... I?/ It was so hard to think. He was warm and comfortable and rally didn't want to move at all.

"Come on, my Beloved. Open your beautiful eyes. That's it."

At HIS urging Pidge slowly did so, to see that white face with the black swirling eyes smiling down at him. Pidge swayed on his feet, feeling incredibly tired, like his entire body was weighed down, only to be steadied by HIS large hands securely upon his upper arms. Pidge just wanted to go back to sleep but HE wouldn't let him. Slowly Pidge looked up, his eyes trailing over the dark rock that entombed everything in this place, and blinked with surprise when he realised he could actually see stars over head. And swirling masses of rock in the atmosphere. He took a shaky step out of the security of HIS hands, away from HIM, as though that would get him closer to the sparkling sky. His brain automatically examining the familiar patterns in those stars. Patterns he had learned and watched from his earliest childhood. Pidge turned his head to look back at HIM who inclined HIS head and grinned with satisfaction.

"How is this possible?" It was so hard to speak, getting the energy to breath out enough to move his voice was almost too much. Pidge turned back to examining the stars again, as though at any moment they would vanish. HE slide those arms around Pidge's body, nuzzling Pidge's neck, and Pidge was too drained to do anything except lean back heavily and let HIM support his weight.

"This is all thanks to you." HE murmured against Pidge's ear, which sent tingles down his spine.

"How?" Pidge felt those teeth grinning against his skin.

"You're wonderful theories, your scientific mind, your curiosity and creativity... You found this place and told us how to rebuild."

"Balto," Pidge breathed, closing his eyes as images from his childhood flashed through his mind. Images of the forest, the mountains, the rivers, the fields...

"Yeeeesssss..." HE purred. "Show me..."

Pidge remembered the clouds in the sky, watching the sun rise and set with pinks and yellows and purples. The different seasons turning the trees green then gold then red then empty.

"More..." HE insisted.

Pidge remembered the smell of the forest he and Chip had played in, moist and muddy and of fallen leaves. The sounds of the birds and insects during the heat of the day and cool of the night. Of the sound of rain falling on the roof at night, the scent of it turning the earth wet and fragrant and calming.

He remembered climbing the trees by the streaming river, it's water so clear your could see even the tiniest specks of sand at the bottom, and of watching the fish school and feed and be hunted by the birds and other wildlife. He remembered lying on the cool grass with Chip and pointing out the constellations while their parents danced inside their house by candlelight.

"Mooorrree.." Was pressed to him.

Pidge remembered stumbling into the cave system days after an earth quake that had sent sparkling lines across the land, and finding the piles of stone jars all with the warning labels carved into them, all sealed with the same kind of magic that bled into the sparkling lines they had followed, magic that only he, Chip and their mother could see when she took her specks off. And then how he and Chip were quickly fitted for specks of their own and how sad their mother had been and the ninja-priests coming to seal the cave up again. And then he and Chip being enrolled in ninja training, and how their entire division all had to wear specs and that taking them off was punishable by public beating.

"So cruel, so cruel they were." HE said morosely, running fingers over Pidge's closed eyelids so gently. "Trying to hide you from your purpose."

Pidge slowly opened his eyes and HE continued stroking down Pidge's face and neck. "What do you mean?" Pidge could only whisper it. HE spun Pidge around to face HIM, making him stumble and his head spin. HE pulled Pidge tightly against his body.

"My poor Beloved," HE said. "Your own people have forgotten their purpose. You, just like all Baltons, were created for Us and for Our pleasure."

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Where ever the hell here was, it was DARK. Hunk was glad he thought to suit up for space conditions before walking through the hole in the air the little kid had taken him through. The kid was tugging him around as though searching around where Hunk was standing, but without Hunk needing to take any steps in any direction.

/Beloved?/ The kid was calling out while searching. /Beloved? Beloved? Please speak to me!/

Hunk turned the torch on. Light sprung from his voltcom and immediately revealed the rectangular box of a stone prison cell they were in, about the width of a toilet cubical, but a couple meters long. Shining the light upwards revealed no actual roof, just more, never ending darkness. Hunk took a step towards the kid who had curled up in a corner, crying, and his boot caught in something sticky. He shone the light down, taking a swallow of dread, and saw the vast pool of blood slowly drying there, growing tacky while it was starting to coagulate. "Oh, Pidge." He moaned, feeling like his heart would break. He knew blood could spread far and look like there was more lost than there really was... but this really was an awful lot of blood. Hunk shuddered to think of just what shape Pidge would be in when he was found... His thoughts shied away from the other, more likely possibilities.

Then the kid was in his face again, angry green eyes reflecting the torch light like a cat. The little hands gripped Hunk's arms with much more strength than was normal. /HE's taken away my Beloved!/ The kid growled. /I want him BACK!/

"You and me both, kid." Hunk lay a hand gently upon the kid's head and ruffled his hair. The kid got a startled look at the contact, then his eyes fluttered and a blissful smile spread over his face. He leaned into Hunk's touch like a kitten begging for a scratch behind the ears. Once again, Hunk was caught by how much this kid reminded him of Pidge. "So, what's your name?" He asked, continuing to run his fingers through the messy hair.

"Little One." He murmured, actually speaking out loud for the first time. "Beloved called me Little One."

"Well, Little One. By any chance would your Beloved is also be MY beloved, Pidge?"

/YES!/ Little One snapped impatiently.

"Just checkin. Any idea where OUR Beloved could be?"

Little One leaned back, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Yessss..." He hissed through those sharp teeth. "When you find HIM will you slay HIM?"

"Slay Pidge? No way!"

/NO!/ Little One stomped his foot with frustration. /HIM! HIM! HIM who has taken Beloved and hurt Beloved and locked Beloved away!/

"I dunno." Hunk said honestly. "I guess that depends on how willing he is to give Pidge back, and what shape he's in when we get him. Okay?"

Little One stared up into Hunk's eyes again intently for some long moments, before giving a single nod.

Then the cell was empty except the blood and gore on the floor.

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Both Little One and Hunk stumbled with the relocation, but Little One then doubled over and leaned heavily against Hunk, gasping loudly. Hunk managed to catch him before he slid to the floor, and turned him around to look the kid over. He couldn't see any injuries, but the kid was sweating, and shaking all over, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Where are you hurt?" Hunk asked urgently. "What's wrong?" If he lost this kid, he knew there was no way he could get out of where ever here was again.

Little One pried one eye open some of the way, but Hunk could tell even that was a struggle. /Walking... between... is... HARD. I'm... tired. Go!/ Then Little One lost the battle to stay awake and went completely limp in Hunk's arms. As gently as possible, Hunk lay the kid down, hoping that this was a safe enough place for him to sleep.

Standing again, Hunk then looked around himself. Even though the place was dark, he could make out edges on either side of him, like sloping walls or mounds of rock. Above him, way way up in the air, there were stars. Hunk could also see what looked like some kind of swirling nebula of huge asteroids that slowly gravitated towards each other. The mounds on either side of him had clear space, like a road, between them, leading off into darkness. Hunk activated his voltcom, assessing atmospheric conditions. There was breathable air and gravity was good. Not wanting to waste any of his reserves, Hunk deactivated his space suit. "Guys," He tried to send a message out to the Green Lion. "If you can hear me, I think I'm on a planet. Dunno which. I got me a guide who's been helping me track down Pidge. I aint found him yet, but you better clean up that bunk coz I think he may really really need it. Maybe even see if there's any blood packs in the kit." There was no reply, not even static. Hunk hoped it was because they were 'other wise engaged' and not because there was no signal, and that if they were 'busy' they would still get the recorded message soon enough.

He looked behind him again to find Little One was gone. He took a deep breath to steady himself, and then started to walk the road into the darkness.

To be continued...


	19. Hunk SMASH!

19 November 2012- 30 March 2013  
Hacked  
by Zuzanny  
part 19

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
It was a vessel Chip knew well. A huge science-class colonizer. Not for actually colonizing of course, but fully capable of sustaining life on board for an indefinite amount of time if there were less than forty-thousand occupants at a time. It was barely visible to the naked eye. The shadow of the satellite Hunk and Pidge had put in place obscured it from visuals when on the normal flight path from Arus. It was only that the satellite had been in a direct path of the drifting colonizer that it was even noticeable. The gentle nudge from the higher gravitational field of the colonizer had knocked the satellite off course. No wonder Pidge had come to investigate. Chip knew Pidge would have recognized the class of ship as well, and wondered if he had reported it... and if he hadn't, why not?

The colonizer had no life signs from the initial scan, but Chip told Lance not to trust that. This was a Balton ship after all, from before the planet's destruction. It would be invisible to the Lion's scanners, unless specifically set. Chip went about doing so, but it was hard without any reference to what this ship's frequencies would actually be.

"She's looking pretty banged up." Lance commented quietly while Chip's fingers danced over Midonjishi's controls. The tone of voice used was enough to let Chip know Lance's hackles were raised. "I don't like this. I don't remember seeing this when we had to EVAC Pidge."

"Would you have noticed it?" Chip asked, doing a quick calculation in his head about current light angles and gravitational pulls and directions of drift. "The angle would have been different. It would have been completely in shadow then, and you wouldn't be able to see it at all."

"I still don't like it. Any response from hailing?"

"No. But their com tower is looking pretty fried."

"I guess that means we better go to the front door and try knocking, eh?"

"Are you sure we should do that? I still haven't heard back from Arus yet."

Lance flashed him a grin, but Chip could see the unease in Lance's eyes. "We're too far out for messages to connect for a while each direction. That's what Pidge designed the satellite for, so we can actually communicate all the way out here."

"Anything from Hunk?"

"Not yet." Lance took a steadying breath. "If he's able, he'll contact us."

Chip understood. They were in deep trouble if there were any problems out here. They couldn't count on rescue, not with the com signals down. "If we get this satellite back in place it should get easier, right?"

"That's the theory."

"For that to happen we need to get the satellite back into position. And to do that, we need to move the colonizer."

Lance then smiled wickedly. "Let's poke it!"

(InsertLineBreakHere)  
The Goblin King - as Hunk dubbed him - was seated in the distant end of a dark cavern, only visible from chest height up. Hunk could only just make out that there were intricate, swirly patterns carved into the headrest of the stone throne the monster was seated on. "Where's Pidge?" Hunk yelled his demand across the expanse. The Goblin King raised his head slowly, as though he were waking from sleep.

/Who wants to know?/ Was replied directly into Hunk's mind, sounding both amused and vaguely curious.

"I do, dammit!" Hunk yelled back, pointing. "You took him. Now give him back!"

Even with all the distance Hunk could see the smug grin that split the monster's face open. /No./

Out of the darkness before him stepped a figure all in skin tight, blood red gear, with spider-leg-like fingers at the end of her very long arms. Her face and hair were white as bone, and her blood-red eyes roamed over Hunk's form appraisingly.

"I dub thee Strawberries and Cream." Hunk muttered to himself.

Her face also split open, revealing her jaws solidly lined with needle-teeth. /How amusing,/ She answered back, also into his mind. /Lunch-meat./ Then in a flash she was before him, driving her fist into his stomach, followed up be elbowing him in the ribs while he was doubled over.

Hunk summoned his Hammer and swung out at her legs. She leapt up over the swing, landed on the hammer and side kicked him in the head. Hunk's nose broke with a splert of blood and he went flying backwards, rolling a few times before he was able to lift his head. He yanked his nose back into place with a sickening crunch, spitting blood and wiped his face with the back of his hand while climbing back to his feet. The red woman slowly straightened, licking her lips while she watched him.

"That all ya got?" Hunk again summoned his Hammer, taking deep breaths. "Strawberry?"

The Strawberry in question grinned with delight, eyes hooding slightly. /No,/ she cooed sweetly and was on him again, kicking and punching and drawing blood. Hunk managed to block some punches with his arms, the impact of her hit- he was sure - would break bones normally. He swung out his Hammer but she was simply too fast for him to land any hits. She swept his feet out from under him and stomped hard on his groin. Hunk screamed, kicking out, only just touching her as she jumped backwards. He curled up into a ball of agony, wondering if she had crushed his pelvis with that stomp, and waited for her to continue beating him. She didn't. He cracked open one watering eye to find her crouched by his head staring hard at him.

"Good shot." He wheezed at her, trying to breath through the pain. "Strawberry."

He could feel/hear her amusement when he called her that. /Had enough?/ She asked, running a finger through the blood still trailing from his nose, then brought it to her mouth to taste it.

"No." Hunk snapped a fist at her face, actually connecting, and knocked her off her feet. "I don't normally like to hit girls," He forced himself to his feet. "but for you I'll make an exception."

Again he felt/heard her amusement as she tilted her head. /Oh, I LIKE you!/ She launched her self at him, claws flashing from her fingertips and raking chunks out of Hunk's arms and chest.

"Yeah, well..." Hunk struggled to find a quip. "Well... I EAT strawberries... for LUNCH!"

She actually snickered. /I've never found any thing I can't eat./

Hunk put his hand up to wait, taking a step back from her. "So hang on, you've seriously tried eating tyres... and succeeded?"

She likewise stopped any attack and stared at him. /No, I meant-/

"What about CARS?" Hunk interrupted her. "What about rocks! You've got plenty of rocks around here. Did you eat the rocks to make this place? Your teeth must be freaking AMAZING! Who's your dentist?"

/You are the first person who has ever attempted to mock me./

"Oh I'm not mocking you," Hunk insisted. "I am genuinely impressed! I don't know of anyone else who could eat random shit like you. Say... do you eat that too?"

/Enough!/ She growled, and backhanded him in the face hard enough to send him smacking against a wall.

"You hit like a girl." He groaned with his face pressed against the wall.

/And you can't hit at all!/

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in will ya." He spun away, just narrowly avoiding her punch to his ribs which left an impact crater in the what where he had been. While moving, he summoned his hammer and swung out like it was a bat, and actually connected with her middle. "SCORE!" She flew backwards this time, rolling across the stone floor a good distance, then lay still. Hunk stood, knees bent, stance ready with the hammer balanced on his shoulder, both hands gripping the handle, watching and waiting for her to spring up and attack him again.

She didn't.

The shadows swallowed her form. /I think I shall keep you./ He voice whispered into his right ear. Hunk automatically swung out his hammer, but she wasn't there. /I always wanted a pet to play with./ Her voice sounded to his left this time. He swung again, but in the darkness he had no idea where she was.

"Get a dog." Hunk snarked, closing his eyes to listen for her instead.

/I prefer lions./ She purred from somewhere above him. He swung again, missing. /They taste better./

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Midonjishi was too small to be able to shift the colonizer, and the colonizer had twisted bits of metal that had tangled with the satellite so the Lion couldn't move the satellite instead. So they decided that boarding the colonizer had to be the way to go.

There was groaning of metal as the connection between Midonjishi and the Colonizer was made and hissing as airlock was established. Even so, both Lance and Chip armored up for deep space with weapons ready. With Lance covering him, Chip went to the computer access panel on the colonizer and opened it to see what sort of hacking he could do.

"This has been touched recently." Chip said looking at the prints in the dust over the keypad. "Probably Pidge getting in." Chip considered the prints, and also what he knew about colonizers and general Balton security.

"Speaking about recently," Lance leaned against the wall as casually as was possible while holding a couple laser pistols at the ready. "have you heard from Geoff or any of the others?"

Chip gave him a sideways almost-glare before returning to the computer in front of him. "No." was firmly said, with some bitterness mixed in with it. "I haven't heard from them since the Voltron Force was forced to disband by Wade."

Lance was surprised by that. "Why the hell not? It's not like you lot were ever arrested for anything." Chip tensed at that. "You guys have a falling out?"

Chip paused his typing and sighed. "Lance, this is the first time I have been able to get off Balto since that all happened, not that I tried very hard until all this, but..." He took a deep breath, then turned to face the taller man. "Who would you say is the most dangerous person on your team? Out of all of you, who would Wade want watched and controlled the most?"

"Keith." Lance said immediately.

"No," Chip's smile was bitter again. "you're wrong."

"No I'm not!" Lance insisted. "Wade was always obsessed with finding Keith and keeping the Black Lion under control. Wade always hated Voltron and Keith is the face of our unit."

"That doesn't mean he's the most dangerous, just the most public."

Then Lance tweaked. "Pidge! He's the master hacker, and he was keeping us all in contact while Keith was AWOL!"

"Yesss..." Chip hissed. "Thankfully Pidge is exceptional at what he does. He was able to convince Wade that he was an obedient little slave for him. But we both knew what was really going on. We were both being watched. Wade grew slack with Pidge under his nose, but on Balto, there is no such thing as that kind of luxury. I don't know if Geoff or the others have even TRIED to contact me, but I haven't tried to contact them, or leave Balto, or do anything except be good. Any thing I do would be used as an excuse to arrest and question Pidge, and he's far more important to universal security than I am right now."

"So what HAVE you been doing these last few years?" Lance asked quietly.

"My duty. Since Balto's destruction, all citizens are conscripted work in the archives, and I'm no different." He went back to attacking the computer.

"But... But... why didn't you join The Acadamy? You could have at least been with the rest of us, and have had some freedom."

Chip snorted. "You really have no idea, do you?"

"Hey!" Lance sounded hurt, so Chip placed a hand on his leg, just above his knee and that quickly paused any hurt thoughts Lance may have been having right then and replaced them with others that made him smile widely.

"It's alright." Chip said. "Balto is not a free society like those on Earth or Arus. We don't have the same sorts of rights as you do. And it's hard, it's really hard to come out of that society into a free one, only to have to go back again." He turned his eyes down to the floor in shame. "We're not like you are, Lance. I wish we were, but we're not. I wouldn't be surprised if after we get back to Arus I am conveniently "misplaced" in some accident, and you will never see me again." There was a muffled clang from the colonizer's airlock. "We're in."

Lance stared in horror at the young man who turned on the torches of his voltcom and entered the darkened halls of the colonizer as though he had not just spoken about his own potential kidnapping and forced disappearance, before his brain kicked in and he also turned on his torch and followed Chip inside. Lance pulled the airlock closed, just incase something tried to get onto the Lion that was not them, but seeing all the rust covering the inside of the airlock he figured anything on board would had to have died from atmosphere leaking out.

"I can see the foot prints Pidge made when he was here." Chip commented. "Looks like Daniel was here too. No other prints though."

"Daniel never mentioned this." Just one more thing to question Daniel about when they got back.

"Atmosphere is good." Chip's voice came to him over the headset. Chip was fiddling with the displays springing from his voltcom. "There's a power source further in."

"Weird." Lance commented thinking about the rust all over the inside of the airlock.

"Why is that?" Chip asked, his torch light showing him walking about ahead. "Colonizers are equipped to produce and recycle atmosphere. Even if the generators die, the solar collectors would be more than powerful enough. Now somewhere here there should be a panel to access the lights." And he went off wandering some more.

"Maybe it's mould?" Lance muttered to himself as he realised he hadn't seen any obvious holes in the hull, not that big ones would be needed to kill off anything on board... But if there was still atmosphere there can't be any holes here. Then he shone his torch light on the airlock door some more, leaning in closer to peer at it. "Chip?" He called out.

Chip paused, some meters away from him and looked back. "Hmmm?"

"Balton's don't make their ships out of iron do they?"

Chip laughed hard, like he couldn't believe that Lance would be capable of such stupidity.

"Did you see this?"

"No, what is it?" Chip came back over.

Lance shone his torch higher on the door, and then the walls, and then the floor.

"Blood." Chip breathed confirming Lance's own thoughts, then swore and span around, his back to the door, shining his torch about the hall in front of them. Katana sprang from his voltcom to both his hands. Lance mirrored him. For several minutes nothing could be heard except both men breathing heavily.

"It looks old." Lance said eventually, when nothing presented itself to attack them. "There are no bodies here. No bones. No tracks on the floor apart from Pidge and Daniel's."

Chip immediately shone his torch to the roof, checking all above them. He sighed with relief when there was no sign of anything that shouldn't be there. "Let's find the lights. This place is creeping me out."

Together they walked, all senses strained, taking turns to be facing forwards or backwards, and shining their torches around the silent and empty halls of the colonizer. It seemed like hours of walking in darkness before Chip paused and pressed his hand against Lance's back to tell him to stop.

"What is it?" Lance whispered. Chip pointed his torch downwards and off to the left of where they were walking at a pile of what looked like broken pottery. Together he and Lance approached it, still on the look out. Chip edged as close as he dared to the definite shattered remains of a large stone jar, his heart sinking when he saw the dark splashes covering the lighter, once highly polished surface and the floor around it. Had Pidge missed this? The footprints suggested so.

"What is it?" Lance asked again, more insistently this time.

"It was... a containment vessel. The kind used to contain the demons." Chip stood, and they left the jar to return to following Pidge's foot prints. After a few minutes more of walking Chip spoke again. "For something so dangerous, a stone jar really is a stupid thing to use. All it would take is some poor idiot to fall over while carrying the jar, and cut himself on the shards, then the demon would be free to terrorize all around it."

"Is that what you think happened?"

"Yes. And that means there will be no survivors, no bodies even. The only signs of anyone being on board will be the blood on the walls where the people tried to claw their way out through solid metal with their bare hands." There was something else on the floor in front of them. Both men groaned from deep within themselves and blinked back tears when they saw the broken and trampled children's toys.

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The Goblin King grinned down at Hunk's bruised and bloodied form, baring his sharp needle-teeth in a snarl. /And here you are, The One Who Dares Defy My Claim On My Beloved./ There were capitals on those words, Hunk could hear them. The title almost made Hunk want to giggle hysterically. The Goblin King reached down grabbing Hunk by the throat in one hand, and easily lifted him up off of the ground. Hunk choked and gurgled, clutching weakly at the hand cutting air and blood to his body, and kicking out like a dying animal while the Goblin King slowly squeezed harder and harder. /I admit that I am impressed by your tolerance for pain. Very few survive Aka-Shingai's games. My Beloved was the last./ The Goblin King tilted his head to the side in consideration. /Perhaps I shall allow her to keep you after all./

"I want you... to give back Pidge." Hunk ground out with determination.

/Never. He is MINE!/

"You better be prepared to die then."

The Goblin King laughed. /Why is that?/

Hunk grinned at him, his own teeth smeared with his own blood, and summoned his weapon. "Haven't you heard? I'm the Knight in Yellow Armor. That makes you The Dragon." This time a hammer did not form, it was a long bladed spear which he thrust through The Goblin King's chest as hard as he could. Black blood splerted out both sides of his chest where the blade emerged and the goblin King's eyes widened in shock, and he gurgled, coughing up his own blood. He let go his hold on Hunk, but the moment Hunk's feet his the ground he leaned forward more on his spear, forcing the blade deeper. "I told you to give Pidge back ya bastard! Now, GIVE HIM BACK!"

To be continued...


	20. Chrysalis

Voltron Force and all their characters do not belong to me. I am just playing with them. I make no profit from this at all.

Great big thanks goes to SallyOn for all your fantastic feedback and support with this fic! And sorry this has taken so long. It's been breawing for a while, and then I actually lost a chunk of it. I just found it today.

06/04/2013 - 02/11/13

Hacked

by Zuzanny

Part 20

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There were voices, that was what woke him. A low rumbling/vibration followed by a lighter, higher voice. They buzzed in and out of his hearing like a fly or a mosquito. He lay breathing deeply with his eyes still closed, cocooned in the soft, warm confines of the blankets, and tried to make out words. But he couldn't. The words stayed indistinct. Briefly he thought about getting up, but his body was so heavy. His eyes felt glued together. He tried but he couldn't open them.

"It's not time to wake up yet." The deeper voice purred from right beside his ear, he could feel the warm breath against his cheek. He tried to speak, to say... something... but THAT was even harder than opening his eyes.

A cool – but not too cold- set of fingertips gently slid over his eye lids, down his cheek, and down his chin to brush his neck, lingering over the area close to his shoulder. He felt his skin tingle where those fingers touched. He wanted to whimper, but his voice just didn't work.

"Sleep." was breathed insistently into his ear and his mind, and he was powerless to stop doing so.

It didn't seem to be much later that he drifted back into awareness, those voices were back. This time he was stronger, able to move his arms under the blanket and turn his head to the side. With a bit of effort he managed to roll onto his side, noting how just doing that much sent his heart pounding. Slowly he opened his eyes a crack. He was surrounded by a white flowing substance. It took a few moments of staring and pondering for his mind to connect what he was seeing with a description. Material was being blown by a gentle breeze. Light, gauzy curtains surrounded him, or rather, the bed he was in. He took in a deep breath through his nose, and peeled the blankets off his upper body exposing his skin to the cooler air outside the bed. He lay there for a few minutes just panting while his heart raced, and gathered his energy to draw his knees up towards his chest and roll off the edge of the bed. The floor was icy on his bare feet, and the shock of them meeting was enough to wake him completely. He sat on the edge of the bed, gathering his balance and looked about himself. The floor was made of polished wood, the walls hewn logs. The bed he sat on had four posts and white mosquito netting all around. The linen was all white as well. He looked down at himself, and blinked, wondering why he was naked, and where his clothes could possibly be?

The voices continued, and there came the sound of childlike laughter from the lighter voice. He managed to tug a blanket from the top of the bed and wrap it around himself before he approached the bedroom door, it was ajar and very easy for him to slide open. Out side the bedroom had more white flowing fabric hung about, and opened into a much larger and lit room. To his right was an entire open wall or windows that let golden light stream in. The walls were not visible behind the cloth. There was a couch in the middle of the floor facing away from him. He could see movement of two people seated there. The couch was surrounded by more white mosquito netting. The polished floor was dark and cool on his bare feet as he took one hesitant step forward after another. Some steps he had to stop and lean against the wall while he caught his breath and tried to calm his pounding heart. But soon he was close enough to the couch that he could make out the words. It was a man and a child talking to each other he realised. Both with white hair, but that was all he could see of them really.

"Tell me the story again, please?" The child asked with the eagerness of someone completely enthralled.

"Very well," the man said indulgently. "Long ago, after the meeting of the golden and red stars and the rising of the red moon, there came the horrendous roaring of the wind screaming in agony. The very sky tore open, and through the gaping wound fell The Children of the Lightning. They rode the angry wind in shells of gleaming white stars and their fall shook the mountains from ocean to ocean, and flung fire in all directions that burned so hot that the forests, rivers, and all life they contained were swallowed up. In an instant all the forest were turned to dust and ashes, and rivers vanished into steam."

The child gasped out a horrified "No!"

"Yes," The man said seriously, then continued the story. "For two whole moons the shells lay silent and still in their burrows in the mountainside while the sun hid it's face from us, and all the remaining grasses began to wither in the darkness. But then with the rising of the new red moon, the skies parted for the starlight, and one of the shells opened, bleeding light into the bones of the ground. Out stepped the Children of the Lightning; formed of the ground, clothed in the sky, and seeing with all colours of nature. With them they carried such fantastic and delicious aroma of life, the like we had never tasted before – even with the Carowell."

"Wow." the child breathed with awe.

"Yes. When they left their shells and began to spread across the land like insects swarming in season, we watched and waited. Even the air they breathed out tasted sweet with their life. Such variations and complications we had never known to exist! And they were delightful to play with! Some of us could not help ourselves."

From his positions watching the man and the child, he leaned forward eagerly, trying to keep his balance, but wanting to understand what the story was actually about.

"So what happened?" The child asked what he was thinking. The man pulled the child up into his arms, then together they turned their burning black eyes towards Pidge, grinning their razor sharp teeth that sent ice running through his veins and made his knees want to collapse.

"Then we made them our prey."

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Hunk wandered the dark halls of this place for what seemed like forever until he saw something on the ground in the tiny cell before him.

It was Pidge, lying naked, in a crumpled heap like he had been dumped there.

Hunk rushed into the cell, rolled Pidge onto his back and running his hands over his body to assess his injuries. Pidge was deathly pale, the skin under his eyes was dark and bruised, his skin pimpled with the cold. At first Hunk thought Pidge was dead, but he lay his large hot hand over Pidge's chest and held his breath while waiting. He was rewarded with very slow but a steady heart beat. "Pidge! Pidge!" Hunk cried out, and gave his little buddy a shake to try and wake him, but when there was no response, Hunk pulled him up to cradle him so they were chest to chest, rocking him. "Come on, little buddy. Come back to me. Wake up. I've found you. Don't leave me now." Hunk tried to blink back tears, but they fell anyway, splashing against Pidge's cold cheek. Soon Hunk found he couldn't stop the flood of tears, not until Pidge's eyebrows creased, his mouth turned into a frown like one disturbed in their sleep, and slowly his eyes flicked open to fix up on him.

"Huuuunk?" Pidge's voice was barely a whisper, just like someone who had been screaming long and hard. Hunk immediately pulled him closer with delight, squeezing hard enough that Pidge made a small sound of discomfort that made Hunk relax his hold slightly. "You're alive!" Hunk kept saying over and over. "I found you, it's okay, we'll get out of here, I promise."

Pidge's hand slowly clasped hold of Hunk's top, and he gave a relived smile. "I love you." Pidge whispered, before his eyes slid closed and he turned his face against Hunk's shoulder.

Hunk grinned. "I love you too, Little Buddy." he said, and lifted Pidge's slight form as he stood. Hunk activated his Voltcom's beacon, and very soon there came a rumbling that shook the entire place they were in, even knocking some rocks from the roof. Then there was blazing light from the hall outside the cell as the roof was blown in, and wind that almost knocked Hunk off his feet. But no, he stood his ground. He heard the familiar roar of jet engines as the hole in the cavern roof, and a rescue harness was lowered down.

"We've found you Hunk." Lance's voice sounded over the Voltcom. "You always sucked as hide and seek."

Hunk stepped into the dust-streamed light and attached the harness to himself and his precious cargo, saying "Yeah, well next time we play this game I think I'll opt out." Then with a gentle tug on the line, both Hunk and Pidge were pulled up and up and the wind whipping up about them as they were pulled into the bright burning heat of the waiting Green Lion and safety.

"How sweet..." a hated female voice cooed in his ear. "What adorable dreams you have! But nap time is over, Lunch-meat."

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Pidge opened his eyes and looked around himself, frowning at how familiar the white hanging fabric all looked. He knew this was not what he would normally wake up to, yet... he couldn't remember what exactly he would wake up to. Something to do with a warm body beside him? Somebody stroking his hair until he slept? He reached out a shaky hand to run his own fingers down the super fine material, pondering what it was. This was not any sort of fabric that he had touched before, and while it was very soft and warm, it felt... wrong. He looked around the draped room again. The whole place felt wrong, and he didn't know why.

Pidge rolled out from under the blankets, his bare feet slapping loudly on the cold wooden floor, and he breathed through the dizziness that came from standing upright.

There was silence around him, and that had Pidge wondering what had woken him. There was... a feeling. Something was floating in the air, familiar and lingering, almost like a forgotten word right on the tip of his tongue. Or the scent of someone walking through the room who he had known as a child but not seen for years. He slowly made his way into the lounge room area expecting... someone to be there. There was an empty couch amongst more gauzy material, but no one else. There was other furniture around the place, like someone had set up house but didn't really know where anything went. All the furniture was also familiar but... off. Pidge wandered over to a small table by the couch and the window wall, and ran his fingers over a lamp that reminded him of the antique one his mother had which had come from Earth all those years before, the fringe on the edge of the shade tickling his fingers. He turned his head to look around. There was a small kitchen area with china dishes displayed beautifully on a shelf. Out the window, all he could see were stars floating in the darkness. It was like he was on a ship out in space. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against his own reflection in the cold glass, feeling/hearing it's thrum at his touch. It was so strange to be alone. Pidge hadn't thought he was alone for a long time. There was someone with him all the time. Someone... Someone with... dark swirling eyes and and and...

Memories of forcefully being held down on the floor and teeth sinking into his neck flashed through his mind. This was followed by flashes of his belly expanding like a balloon followed by absolute agony tearing through his body, over and over and over again. He cried out and doubled over, clutching at his abdomen with the phantom pain stabbing through him. He had no idea how many times it had happened, he had been so lost in the pain at the time. The horror and dread that filled him spun him around expecting HIM to be there.

But HE wasn't.

Like a light had switched on in his brain, Pidge realised he wasn't here either.

Suddenly Pidge no longer felt afraid, instead he was filled with blinding hot fury.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD?!" Pidge screamed at the roof. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!" When HE didn't appear, Pidge marched over to the lamp and flung it as hard as he could at the glass wall. Pieces of it went flying about him, but still HE didn't appear. Pidge stumbled over to the kitchen and grabbed the china dishes, flinging them like his ninja stars at the window, screaming long and hard as he did so. They also smashed, but didn't even mark the window, so next he lifted a dining chair and swung it as hard as he could against the glass. "LET ME OUT!" The chair legs splintered with the impact and a tiny crack appeared in the glass, but that was all. He swung again, aiming for the crack again and again until finally a splinter of glass fell away with a soft crystal tinkle and fell to the floor.

Suddenly Pidge was swept off his feet as all the air around him started being sucked out as though it really was the vacuum of space outside. He fell to his backside, and slid towards the glass, smacking his shoulder painfully. All the furniture also started shifting towards the window as the crack spread and the hole grew bigger and bigger. Small house-hold items swept past Pidge's face, covering his eyes with his arms. Tiny shards of the lamp slashed at his skin and soon Pidge watched his own blood streaming out the hole in the glass.

As the hole grew, he found himself pinned against the glass like it was a high gravity field, and the thinning air had him gasping and his heart pounding. More and more furniture came flying across the room, collided with the glass, and stuck there. Pidge watched the spider webs of crack spreading with each impact, so beautiful and sparkling white – almost like frost flowers really – and cold as they crept under his skin. He actually felt alarm realising that the pattern of the cracks would lead to jagged edges that would shred him to pieces with this level of gravity when the window would finally give. He really wasn't looking forward to the pain of that, how ever brief it would be.

His thoughts turned to Hunk and their argument the last time they spoke, He could almost see the yellow suit and his warm brown eyes smiling down at him. Only the last time, those eyes had not been warm, but had been hard and angry and burning with so many complicated emotions that Pidge had not been able to understand. And now, here he was. About to be sucked into space, shredded by the glass and have all his blood boil in his veins before exploding from his body. That's if he didn't suffocate first. It was getting harder and harder to breath. He recognised the feeling of no atmosphere and failing air supplies, and that there was nothing he could do about it but try to slow his own panic and focus.

A feeling of satisfied peace fell over him as he felt the glass behind him shatter. He would rather die than be with HIM anyway.

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Hunk spluttered and came back to proper awareness, a feeling on intense despair running though him, and making him want to curl up and die. The Goblin King grinned through his jagged teeth while squeezing Hunk's throat with one hand, enjoying the way Hunk gurgled and jerked with his eyes rolling back into his head as he choked. There was no sign of injury to the monster's chest. Hunk's weapon fell from strength-less fingers and clanged loudly on the stone floor. Suddenly there cam a rumbling through out the cavern, followed by the sound of shattering glass. The Goblin King staggered slightly, then purposefully dropped Hunk at his feet. Hunk coughed and gasped, rolling away from the Goblin King's reach, but the Goblin King ignored him, instead was looking off to the side into the darkness. Hunk drew in a ragged breath and looked through the splotches swimming around in front of his eyes to see the small point of light the Goblin King was heading towards.

A shift in the air beside him had Hunk turning his head away from the Goblin King and towards The Strawberry who, standing with in Hunk's reach, was also gazing after the Goblin King. Hunk's fingers twitched , but he was unable to pick up his hammer or to grab her in anyway. Her eyes flicked down to Hunk and she grinned mischievously instead of sinisterly - which made Hunk's eye twitch. She crouched beside his head and poked a sore spot under his eye.

/The Beloved is awake./ She casually told Hunk. /My Lord did not expect that. If you follow now, you may yet rescue him./

Hunk stared up at her, and swatted her long-fingered hand away from his face, but she just smirked and kept poking him. "Why are you telling me this?"

She poked him again, harder this time, and her smirk spread into a grin. /I simply enjoy being amused. Until we meet again, Lunchmeat./ Then she vanished.

Hunk took in a deep, fortifying breath, and rolled to his feet. He ignored the pounding and dizziness in his head, and staggered off to follow The Goblin King and to find Pidge.

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Hunk followed as quickly as he could as the Goblin Kind strode purposefully into the chamber holding the floating ball of light and also the crystal enclosing Pidge. Except there were shards of crystal flung in all directions all over the chamber. Pidge's form lay still in the crumbled remains of the crystal, gasping loudly and chest heaving as though he had almost drowned. His mouth hung open wide, with his head back, and arms dangling limply from under crumbled crystal. Even from the distance away that he was, Hunk could see the bruising, swelling and lacerations around both of Pidge's wrists which made him think of injuries obtained when tortured while wearing shackles. He could see that both wrists were broken and wildly out of alignment. He couldn't see Pidge's legs, and with a clenching heart hoped that they would actually be there. Between The Goblin King and his Beloved, growling low in his throat like a wild dog, crouched Little one. All Hunk had to do to get to Pidge was get around the two freaky monster things. No problem, especially with the way Little one was gearing up to fight.

"You will not touch Beloved again!" Little one yelled at Goblin King, then grew even angrier. "SHUT UP! This is all your fault! Beloved wants to die because of you!"

Hunk realised that Goblin King was talking to Little one in his head. In some ways it was amusing, and in other ways Hunk wished he knew what was being said. It was funny that this tiny little kid was arcing up so much as such a big enemy. Kind of like a little yappy dog snapping at a mountain lion. Hunk didn't like the way that sort of scenario would play out. Especially with how Goblin King moved closer, ignoring any threat that Little one was attempting to be.

"I. WONT. LET. YOU!" Little one ground out between clenched teeth. Then his shape began to change. His body and limbs stretched out like a balloon being pumped up, his fangs elongated and blade-like claws sprouted from his fingertips. Little one kept growing until he was almost as tall as Hunk, and then shifted his stance to an aggressive defensive one that Hunk had seen Pidge take on during battle when he was really pissed off. Then with a cry of deadly intent, Littleone launched forward and out of Hunk's sight, attacking the Goblin King one on one. Hunk ignored the sound of Littleone and Goblin King clashing, and focused on his team mate/friend/love.

Hunk staggered over to the pile of crystal rubble containing Pidge's form and saw how the section covering his upper body had been blasted away with enough force to send shards in all directions, embedding them in the walls.

Pidge was deathly pale, his breathing loud and laboured. Hunk reached a trembling hand out and gently tapped Pidge's cheek to try and wake hi, "Come on, little buddy, time to wake up." But Pidge showed no sign of waking. Hunk slid a hand down Pidge's chest, noting how cool his skin was, until he found the rapid and an erratic beat of Pidge's heart. Hunk groaned, knowing that Pidge's heart really couldn't handle much more stress without serious consequences. Carefully Hunk ran his hands over the areas of Pidge's body that he could access to ensure there would be no more nasty wound surprises. He cleared as many crystal shards from around him as he could, before moving to shift him out of the crystal. Wincing at the state of Pidge's wrists, Hunk apologised to his friend before positioning Pidge's arms to cross his chest, then slid his own hands under Pidge's neck and back and pull him upright and against his chest.

"Sorry 'bout this, Little buddy. Probably just as well that you're not with me right now." There was some cooling, sticky liquid at the lower area of Pidge's back had Hunk looking at his hand and grimacing at the blood now coating his fingers. Pidge was completely limp as Hunk shifted and repositioned himself until he was able to pull Pidge's legs out of the case. Hunk cradled Pidge against his own body, Pidge's head resting against his shoulder. There was a lot of blood where Pidge had been lying, and Hunk couldn't tell if it were fresh or not. "You better not bleed to death." he sternly told Pidge. "We got Chip waiting for you on Green, as well as Lance." He shifted again, pulling and lifting until Pidge was completely seated on his lap. Hunk wrapped his arms around him in an attempt to conserve heat. "Speaking about Chip and Lance, I think they got something brewing between them. You should see it, it's cute. Lance better make up his mind and not go wandering, that's all I'll say. Don't worry about Chip. The slightest bit of straying on Lance's part and I'll be smacking him back into place." He paused, looking about in the darkness and seeing no sign of fighting between Little one and Goblin King. The floating ball of light continued to hover in place. There was no sound apart from Hunk and Pidge's breathing. Hunk wondered if he should try to get Pidge outside, but he had no idea which direction would lead them out now. "I hope they make good of each other." Hunk returned to his conversation. "Chip's been sweet on Lance for a while now. Did you know? I caught him looking at Lance with those love-struck puppy-dog googie eyes of his. I bet you know what I mean. Lance sure better treat him right. I wonder where they are right now? I wonder how far away we are from where Little one snagged me from? I'm really sorry, you know? I hope you can forgive me for everything, Pidge? When we get out of here, I swear I'll make it up to you, if you let me." Hunk looked hopefully down at Pidge's face, but still there was no sign that Pidge had heard him. Hunk shifted again, really starting to feel his own injuries now as the adrenaline wore off. "I probably should keep you lying down, less work for your heart. But it's real cold here, and the ground it covered in this glass stuff." Hunk slid down the rubble pile to lean back against it, pulling Pidge closer. He blinked when Pidge's form started to blur and divide into two, Hunk's head throbbed painfully. "Oh, that's not a good sign."

Hunk didn't know if the light was fading, or if he were just loosing consciousness, but it still ended with blackness...

To be continued...


	21. Broken Bits

25/11/2013 -10/06/2014

Hacked

By Zuzanny

Part 21

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Vince pulled back out of the tangle of wires and smouldering circuitry that was the Blue Lion's control panel, and cursed to himself. He was desperately trying to hold back tears of frustration. No matter what he did, nothing would work. He threw down his tools with a clang, just as Princess Allura climbed into the cockpit dressed in her flight suit.

"Not going so well, I take it?" She asked, trying to be encouraging, but failing so miserably.

Vince smeared some grease across his face with the back of his hands when he hastily tried to hide the tears from the princess.

"I just wish i understood what Daniel did to the programming." He said. "If Pidge were here, i bet he'd have it fixed already. I feel so stupid!"

"Daniel was not the one who did this." Came the voice of another woman. Both Vince and Allura turned to see the female ninja standing beside the cockpit entrance, neither of them having noticed she had been there. She bowed deeply to Allura. "Your Majesty, Grand Master Steiner has sent me to inform you that our ship is ready."

"Of course." Allura gave the ninja a tight smile. "It's going to be so strange leaving Blue behind." She ran her hand lovingly over the console, and sighed before focussing back down on Vince. "Try not to worry. We will get Pidge back. You'll see."

She left before Vince could see the doubt she knew would be showing in her eyes, and she also missed him muttering "Yeah, but will he still be Pidge?"

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Hunk noticed the beeping sound before anything else. It was the typical medical heart monitor that seemed to be universal and never changing. It was irritating, and made his head throb with each high pitch ping. He groaned loudly, and tried to roll onto his side to curl further under the blankets and block the sound to go back to sleep, but his legs refused to move. They were strapped into place with a wedge between them.

Hunk's eyes flew open at that. "What the hell?!"

Grey metal walls greeted his eyes, and it took a few moments for him to process what he was seeing. He was in a medical cubical with wires struck to his chest and head, and clear fluids suspended up by a pole beside him, dripping into the back of his hand. His bed was tilted at a 45 degree angle, and Hunk really had no idea why. He kind of felt like he was going to slide out of the bed and onto the floor.

"You're safe." A familiar voice whispered from beside him which made his heart skip and jump. Hunk turned his head towards the voice and felt another jolt of delight run through him.

"Pidge! You're ok!"

Pidge was huddled on his side, under a thick grey blanket on a bed next to him. Only his very pale face was visible from under the blanket, like a child hiding from a monster. The bruising under his eyes was still very dark, almost like he had purple make up smeared there. Hunk couldn't actually see the greens of Pidge's eyes, but could see the reflections of various monitor screens instead. The IV lines connected to Pidge came from a couple of bags with clear fluids and blood hanging in their own pole on the far side if Pidge's bed and also disappeared under the blanket.

"Hi Hunk." Pidge whispered, the corners of his mouth tilted up, but any smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Are you really here? Or is the Strawberry messing with me again?" Hunk reached one hand out towards him, again trying to roll onto his side, but Pidge flinched further away out of any possible reach, blinking at him with confusion.

"Strong pain meds." Pidge muttered to himself, then coughed, grimacing while he did so.

"Never mind. Any idea why I'm tied to this bed like this?" Hunk continued to reach out towards Pidge, whose eyes were fixed on that hand, all traces of smile gone.

"You have multiple fractures." Pidge whispered again. "Pelvis, wrists, ribs. You have a concussion. Thankfully no bleeding in your brain, but they weren't sure for a while."

"So... I'm tied down coz my bones are broken?"

"Pelvic fractures require a wedge to heal properly."

"Well that sucks. What happens when I need to pee?"

Pidge's eyes trailed down to the side of the bed to the tube leading from Hunk's midsection and the bag hanging from the side of the bed filling with yellow fluid tinged with red. Hunk cursed loudly, making Pidge's mouth twitch into a slight smile again, and then he realised something else.

"Hey, why are you whispering?" he also whispered. "Are we in hiding?"

Pidge shook his head no, closed his, and took a steadying breath. "My vocal cords are shredded."

Hunk felt his heart sink. "Any chance they can heal?" He loved the sound of Pidge's voice, and the thought of him never singing again, let alone talking, was like being stabbed in the chest. Pidge just shrugged and bit his lip, darting his eyes to the side nervously. "So..." Hunk drew it out. "this space is much nicer than the last place we were in. It has actual lights. Does this mean we won? That the Goblin King is dead?"

Again Pidge gave him a puzzled look, then darted his eyes away, his heart monitor starting to speed up.

"Where are we?" Hunk asked with some force.

"On a Balton Colonizer." Lance's voice came from the doorway. Hunk turned his head away from Pidge to find Lance and Chip standing there. "In the med bay."

"Hey Lance, Little Buddy!" Hunk greeted them with enthusiasm.

"Good to see you're awake, big guy." Chip smiled back, before coming over to shine a small light in each of his eyes, testing reflexes, and adjusting pain killers. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty smashed up. But you should see the other guy."

"Good to hear it." Chip then went around to Pidge, who said nothing while extending both his arms out from under the blanket, revealing the casts around both forearms. Chip sat on the edge of the bed beside him and gently touched the pale fingers. "Hmmm..." Chip didn't sound happy. "Your fingers are warmer than they were, but they are still colder than I like."

"What do you mean?" Hunk asked in a panic, but Lance shushed him so Chip could continue his examination.

Chip squeezed Pidge's finger nails and then released them. "You have refill at least. Can you move your fingers?"

Hunk couldn't see through Chips back, and the next think he knew, Pidge had pulled his arms back under, and Chip was tucking him in and then at the iv pole checking drip rates or something. Pidge's eyes were closed. Hunk didn't know if he had fallen asleep or not, but his heart rate kept fluctuating. Looking up and across to Chip, he saw the twin rubbing tears from his eyes.

"Yeah, it was a pretty close thing there, Hunk." Lance said. "We were lucky nothing had trashed this place or you both probably would have died. Gotta love the fully stocked med bays. Bolton's sure know how to build them to last." Lance pinned his eyes on Chip's form, and smiled in a way Hunk recognised as fondness with a tinge of dirty thoughts mixed in.

"The med computer system still works," Chip continued without looking away from the iv. "So while your stitches may not be the prettiest to look at, they are still better than nothing."

"What?"

Lance grinned at the panicked look on Hunks face. "We got a crash course in field surgery. Much more interesting than the basic stuff we update each year." Then his expression sobered. "But seriously dude, don't do anything that makes me hold any part of your insides ever again. Or outsides." He turned stern attention to Pidge, who was only just peeking through lowered lids. "That goes double to you too, ya hear?"

Pidged ducked his head further under the blanket, acknowledging that he had received the message.

"Good. Now you two get some rest, while my Mister-Master-Ninja-Pants and I try to sail this boat closer to civilisation."

"For the last time," Chip snapped at Lance, moving so fast he seemed to teleport inside Lance's personal space. Chip stomped his foot petulantly. "She's NOT a BOAT!"

"Reeeeeeeeally? You are still yet to PROVE it."

Hunk saw that twinkle in Lance's eye as Chip shoved him out the door, chastising him the whole way down the hall, and shook his head in amusement. He had obviously missed quite a chunk of something that only the two of them were privy to. And that was ok. He was glad they were able to tease each other so openly. Hunk turned his eyes back to the huddled figure of Pidge, whose eyes were tracking back and forth around the room. Every now and then he would smile slightly, before his eyes shifted again.

"Pidge? Little Buddy?"

Pidge blinked slowly and dragged his eyes towards Hunk.

"You ok?"

Pidge's eyes wandered off around the room again, before fixing at the end of his bed. "So many children." He whispered. He turned his eyes back to Hunk, squinting as though the light was wrong. "I wonder how many are mine?"

Hunk had no idea what Pidge was talking about, but really hoped it was just one of Pideg's weird reactions to the pain meds. Even so, he couldn't stop shivering as though some one was running cold fingertips up and down the back of his neck.

To be continued...


	22. Chip and Lance on the Coloniser

02 Aug 2014 - 06/06/2015

Sorry this has taken so long. I wrote most of this in 2014, but was not happy with it at the time.

Hacked

By Zuzanny

Chapter 22

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The lights were stupidly easy to find really... If you knew where to look. Once Chip found the switch, the Coloniser flashed to life with lights blinking to existence all over the place. It was both a relief and a sickening shock to see the place. Chip had clung tightly to Lance's body in a hug, his fingertips pressing so tightly into the older man's back he was sure bruises would be found there later. Chip had wanted to scream out his horror and anger at what was left in this cargo bay. He clenched his teeth, and let Lance hold him while the tension rolled through him in waves.

"Come on," Lance tugged gently, and together they followed the logical lay out to head to the command centre.

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The hallways were empty, the walls stark white even with the layers of dust. Some doors were left open, but most were closed and locked. Chip looked behind him and saw their bootprints in the dust. A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye had him jerking his head towards the side... But there was nothing there.

"What is it?" Lance asked with a suspicious tone.

"...nothing." Chip replied. Lance's eyes narrowed. "Just innocent dust bunnies." Chip added with a shrug.

Lance made a noise low in his throat. "Have you ever SEEN any horror movies?!"

Chip blinked up at him. "With the life that I lead, I don't need to." He replied dryly.

Lance shook his head, tisking. "Then think about being in one now, and how seemingly innocent things are NEVER nothing or innocent. I don't know about you, but I want to stay alive. So we are going to make some rules. One. Don't wander around in the dark on our own. Two. We always have our weapons in our hands. Three. We always check out the escape routs or access points and how lockable they are. And four. We always, ALWAYS tell each other about any wierd-ass-shit that could turn out to want to kill us. Alright? Alright. So. What was it you saw?"

Chip again blinked at Lance, this time with some bemusement. "I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye." He indicated at the spot. "But there is nothing there."

"Not that we can see." Lance muttered, his eyes running over the empty space. Finally he turned back to Chip. "Alright. But I want to know every time something happens. It could be nothing. It could be something wanting to eat us. I want to be prepared either way."

"Thanks so very much for settling my nerves." Chip muttered sarcastically.

"Come on."

They continued on. Chip tried to ignore the feeling of being watched and the hair on the back of his neck standing up.

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Lance had to admit he really, really, really loved the tech of this ship! Everything was made in the era where things were supposed to last or could be fixed with a shoe lace and some bubble gum. The systems could all work independently, yet still be interconnected, and he was enjoying the exploration of said systems. /I know of a certain Green Lion pilot who would so love to be here right now! Hang on tight, Pidge. We're doing what we can./ Lance knew current tech was highly trashable, and often interfered with (case in point: Haggarium and the Voltcoms.). This stuff looked a few hundred years old, yet still worked!

He ran his hands over the control panel, pressing buttons and reading diagnostic screens that showed the very low energy consumption when the only atmospheric support was relating to the various overgrown gardens that were scattered around every deck of the ship. The batteries were still charging well, only needing to turn on the solar collectors about once a year when they needed the boost. With no people running about to make a mess, the maintenance bots had all been on standby in storage, and had not even been dusting... Huh. That was strange. Up until a few months ago, when they had ALL been activated in defence mode, and left the ship... To hunt down an intruder, it looked like. They had not returned since. Very strange.

Still, Lance was impressed that the computer system was still running, complete with accurate date and all that. Now if he could just figure out how to turn the propulsion systems on and back away from the satellite/space station blocking the majority of the view from the command deck's windows, they could probably even sail the boat back to Arus. He wondered how much energy it would take to get there?

Chip was flicking through other info from another monitor on the deck. "Oh wow," he breathed. "The galley and med bays are still good. I wonder how the far out of use-by date everything would be?"

"You hungry, kid?" Lance glanced across at him.

"Nah, I'm ok."

"You sure? It has been quite a few hours since we last ate. And we really should make sure there is nothing toxic brewing down there."

"I... Suppose." Chip reluctantly agreed. "What if canned beans is all there is?"

"Just as well we are wearing our spacesuits then, eh?"

Chip snorted.

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The galley probably housed enough tinned beans to feed a city of several hundreds of thousands of people for at least three years. But thankfully that was not all that they had.

Lance found himself whistling out loud at the sheer number of pallets stacked on top of each other in the vast warehouse that backed onto the galleys on each level of the ship. Lance found an inventory and supply access point and started flicking through what was kept in what numbers and which level. While he did that Chip explored the galley of the floor they were on. The stores of the galley themselves were empty beyond the basic utensils, still in their secured positions.

"They didn't have the chance to even unpack for one meal." Chip murmured.

"Can you believe all this RICE CREAM?" Lance enthused as he flicked through the inventory. "Man, I used to love this stuff as a kid." Lance frowned as he saw Chip brush the back his hand over an eye, and immediately went over to wrap his arms around the smaller man. "You ok?" Chip sighed and leaned back into Lance's solid chest. Lance rested his chin on the top of his head.

"It must have all happened so quick." Chip whispered.

There was nothing Lance could say so he didn't even try. He just held Chip tight.

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Careful investigation showed all the pipe works and waterways were still functioning. Lance gleefully told Chip all about a malfunctioning sewer system Hunk had had to fix some years before. "Man, you should have seen his face! It took weeks to get the smell out!"

"Yeah, well at least he didn't strain his big toe doing it."

"Who told you about that?!" Lance shot Chip a horrified, almost threatening look. Chip just smirked.

"Pidge. He told me AAAAAALL about it."

Lance pouted. "Yeah, I bet he did. Is nothing sacred anymore?!"

"Nope."

Lance shrugged away his pout. "Yeah, I kind of figured that."

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They raided the pallets for a nice supply of edibles, and planted themselves back in the command deck. Chip occasionally saw what he thought were little flashes of light or movement in the dust bunnies out the corner of his eyes while they walked around. But despite Lance ordering otherwise, Chip just didn't mention it. He constantly had that kind of tingling-cold feeling on the back of his neck like they were being watched, but... It didn't feel malicious, so he decided to ignore it. He figured as long as their suits stayed intact, they could blow up the ship and float out in the black for a while and still be okay... For a while. Why was he even thinking like this anyway? He needed to get the Colonizer disconnected from the satellite to re-establish coms! He turned back to the consul to run through more check and scans.

"You know..." Lance hedged, looking at the data on his screen. "If we could reverse thrust a few thousand clicks, we could realign the coms that way. It may be easier than doing an actual detanglement."

Chip agreed. "I wonder what Grand Master Steiner would say about this?"

"How about 'Great! You found our long lost ship! No need to return to Balto, you've done your duty. You can stay on Arus with Lance.' What do you think?"

Chip snorted at the poor impression Lance performed. "Not in a million years." Lance went back to pouting while Chip flicked through another file that monitored a specific area of life support...and gasped in shock. "Oh my God!"

Lance was instantly at his back, weapons drawn and looking about defensively. "What is it?"

Chip turned in his seat and grabbed hold of one of Lance's wrists to lower his weapon. "There are survivors." He breathed, and together they turned to look at the screen. "Look at them all. In sleepers. Look at them all!" Chip pointed at the total number displayed at the top of the chart and laughed in relieved delight. He turned in his chair and sprung up to hug Lance tight, before looking back at the screen. "We even have names and data on all these people!"

"Then it is just as well we have a ship full of food." Lance smiled into the young man's hair. "Do you think New Balto could take them all in?"

"I would think so, since they are all Baltans. I wonder if they all survived, or if any of the units malfunctioned? We will need to check that."

"Would units failing happen often?" Lance sounded wary.

Chip shrugged. "This is ancient tech. I know they were built to last, but still... We should check."

"I don't think we should wake any of them up yet until we can be sure this place is safe, and we can confirm what will be done with them all. That sure is a lot of people to feed and house and toilet. But before any of that, let's get this party started!" Lance fiddled with the control panel and flashed a grin at Chip. "Wanna do the honours?"

Chip grinned back at him, then slapped his hand down on the control panel. The stabilisers were still so good that the only way they could tell they were moving was the slight blur of the stars around them, and the numbers on the display in front of them.

"When we get back in range, I'm going to try and contact Keith."

Chip nodded, eyes glued to the display. "Almost there," he said, feeling his heart pounding with an excited anticipation, and directed Lance on how to make sure they were correctly positioned. Just before they were in the right spot, all the lights and screens flickered then shut off.

"Holysweetchillychickenwithasideofchipsandonionsonasandwich!" Lance swore, pulling out his weapons again. The only lights were now from the stars outside, and the glow of their suits. "What the hell happened?" Lance demanded.

"I don't know!" Chip yelped. "All the readings said everything was fine!"

Abruptly the power came back on... And there were three new life signs registering on board.

To be continued...


	23. Whispers in the Dark

29/12/2015- 10/05/2016

Voltron Force, their characters and words do not belong to me. I make no profit from this. I am just playing with these characters because I am mean and Pidge is so cute when he's pissed off but too good a person to quite kill anyone.

Hacked

by Zuzanny

part 23

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(Then...)

It was Pidge's day off from work, and for a change he decided to go for a wander around the city and take in the sites. It had been a really long time since he had just emersed himself in the culture around him and spend some time exploring. So he decided to go to the central shopping district because it was new (about 10 years old now), and not some place he tended to go. Hunk always raved about a particular ice creamery and cinema complex. Pidge wasn't really sure when Hunk would have had the time to actually go there, but then again the others all had less duties than he did. Sky Marshal Wade Frowned Upon (capitals included) there being too much contact between he, Hunk and Lance. And Pidge really didn't want to push things too much. He was careful to be interesting enough for Wade to know he had some worth, but obedient enough not to warrant being watched on more than the normal Extreme Level Security Threat setting.

The city had changed in unexpected ways in the years that he had not visited. There were many buildings that had sprung up, leading to a vastly different skyline, and some were gone completely. Like the hardware store he occasionally had wandered through, and that bookshop that ran several levels high and was next door to the cafe Lance- well, it didn't really matter what Lance did there. It was all gone now, replaced by some camping gear shop. Pidge wondered how many of the city dwellers actually went camping, and how many just sprayed their rides with mud to try and impress the ladies? Not that he ever bothered about that sort of thing. Saving the world and avoiding being locked in the med centre afterwards kind of made him too busy.

The streets were covered in people. Every few blocks there were artisans performing for money. One young man was performing a beautifully choreographed contact jugling routine with crystal-like balls that made it look like the balls were hanging in the air with magic while he mannuverred himself around them. He had quite the crowd around him. Pidge stood and watched his entire routine, before clapping along with the cheering public and dropping money into his hat. Secretly Pidge wondered if this young man was Baltan or Earther. His flexibility and skill spoke of human martial arts training where ever he came from.

One girl was playing some kind of instrument that looked like an ancient pre-guitar with only three strings. She was sitting on an embroidered carpet and plucked away while a portable music player sung out a backing track. At another place, a group of artists drew amazingly realistic scenes in the paths with coloured chalk. Pidge made sure he picked up their card, thinking about a cover art job they may be interested in. An older man tapped out songs with his hands on a metal drum that had been hammered in different places. Another one was trying to sell little trinkets made from bits of scrap metals. And there were more. At each one he came across, Pidge made sure to listen or watch or examine what was on offer, and give them some money for their efforts. He smiled as he thought of the little jumping wind-up toy made of scraps he bought. Hunk would be impressed by it. There was some real talent involved in making those things. He wondered if the engineering department would be a place that particular stall holder would be interested in a job offer from? In fact, so many of these artisans had talents that could be bringing them in quite a decent income if they had the right opportunities. Pidge wondered if Wade knew about them, and if they had to be (and were) licensed to be there? He knew that if they were doing this without permission it would be whoknowshowlong in the city brig for them... but then again, maybe that was a good way to get a dry place to sleep at night if they didn't already have one? Pidge could see there were plenty of homeless people amongst these performers, with signs made from scraps telling one sob story after another, many just wanting food. Pidge narrowed his eyes and observed how these people were treated. Some were given money, some food, some angrily told to move on and get a job. One homeless lady actually burst into tears at that, saying she wasn't willing to become a prostitute quite yet, and Pidge was about to step in when some others who were closer formed a ring around the woman to protect and console her. Pidge watched the well dressed aggressor storm away in a huff, automatically cataloguing locations of strike points on the man in case he needed to be taken down. Lucky for the man, he just kept walking.

When Pidge was close enough, he noticed the insignia worn by those shielding the woman. He didn't recognise it, but was determined to look it up. He heard them gently telling her that she was welcome to come to their shelter for food and a place to sleep, and maybe even some help finding work again. If they really were the worthy cause he hoped they were, he knew of some wealth that was just waiting to be donated from some of Wade's funnelled accounts.

Also perhaps DJ Prongs could be able to do some good with all that popularity, rather than just be an outlet for him? After all, he had no real use for all that money, but these people did.

Pidge walked down one of the busy walk ways and saw the masses of people gathered in front of the giant vid screen above them, hung on the side of the massive city public library. It was playing images of their very own Sky Marshal in various heroic poses, while the people below yelled abuse at him, as though he would actually be able to see and hear them. Pidge snorted. He knew Wade would have no problem sitting on top of that billboard with a heavy machine gun and wipe all these protesters away. Especially if he could some how twist to the media that Voltron had some how been involved in doing it. There were some days he regretted promising to Princess Allura not to poison/maim/assassinate or in any way organise the murder of this man... even accidents were out. Must be good, remember. Be a good guy. Pidge took in some calming breaths and paused to look in the windows of the shops he was idly passing, and staying out of the rushing foot traffic around him.

"My god." came the snooty, heavily accented voice of a woman behind him while he walked. "Can't you go any faster?"

Pidge wasn't actually sure they were talking to him, so he looked in the window reflection to the couple of... heavily made up women in very tight leggings and leather jackets and hair piled up on their heads almost another head again high. He also observed that while there was a lot of foot traffic, there was plenty of space around him that these... ladies... could easily pass him if they wanted. He decided to stop and look at... some random suevaneer shop... window and let them pass him. He then continued on his way in the same direction of these women, and noticed how they were obnoxious to virtually everyone in their path.

"My god. Call Lebanon. Another refugee's escaped." They laughed mockingly as they passed some stranger in a heavily patched winter jacket, which Pidge thought was incredibly ironic considering their accent was quite obviously from a similar region on Earth as well. Pidge's eyes trailed down to the muscles in their legs, quite visible through the tight strech of their leggings. He smiled to himself imaginging a kick here, a stomp there, that would be all it required to make them fall flat on their faces, and he could keep walking like he had no idea why their legs suddenly stopped working. He took in more calming breaths. No, Pidge. These are just civilians who have no idea how selfish and offensive they really are. And you are meant to be one of the good guys.

He sighed. Sometimes being a Good person was such a pain in the arse.

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(Now...)

Hunk woke to the sound of someone whispering. It sounded like a young man, and he couldn't quite understand what the words were, but caught the s's and p's when they were said. Very slowly he opened his eyes and turned his head towards Pidge's bed. Pidge was staring intently at a space across the room. But he was not talking. No one was talking. There was no one else there.

Hunk blinked, then shrugged. Perhaps he had imagined it? "How ya going, Little Buddy?"

Pidge's eyes swung towards him, almost looking like they were green glass lit from behind. It was kind of strange how bright they were without his specs on. He still looked like death warmed over, with dark smudges under his eyes, and the smile that should have been there wiped away. Hunk wondered if they would ever see him smile ever again? Pidge's eyes flicked around the room again before settling upon Hunk, and the corner of his mouth did twitch upwards then. "Hallucinating quite nicely now." He whispered huskily. "Working pain killers are wonderful."

Hunk had to agree with that. "I'm amazed they are not out of date. Or are they, and we are slowly being poisoned but are too comfortable to notice?"

"Beats freezing to death."

"So true. No more doing that, ok?"

Pidge's glittering eyes skittered away again and he said nothing.

"Tell you what," Hunk continued. "for all that I wanna get home asap, I am really not looking forward to hitting atmosphere again."

Pidge nodded, then closed his eyes

"I wonder how long it will take for the Lions to be fixed up with out us there?"

Pidge's eyes snapped open at that and he shot upright, before the pain hit him and he doubled over curling into himself. Hunk cried out in alarm, but Pidge just grit his teeth and breathed through the pain to pin Hunk with a grim look. "What. Happened. Lions." He demanded.

Hunk shrunk back a bit, mentally hitting himself, but at the same time happy that a spark of life had returned to Pidge's eyes. "Uh, turns out Daniel was possessed. By demons this time, not just stupidity. And he messed up stuff."

"He touched Mindonjishi?" Pidge was almost growling, and there was a murderous gleam in his eyes now. Hunk wasn't sure, but for a second he thought there was a rattle of everything not glued/pinned down around the room.

"No." Hunk squeaked. "Green's fine! Is how we got to you, kinda anyway. Green and that kid what kept calling you Beloved." Pidge visually shuddered at that, and the intent to commit murder was gone. "I wonder what happened to that kid, anyway? Is he magic or what? Last I saw he looked about ready to punch up with the Goblin King. How the hell did we get here anyway? Lance and Chip say we just appeared in the lower decks. Balton tech doesn't have teleportation devices, right? But that sounds like we got teleported. I think the Kid could teleport. I hope he got out ok. Hey, teleportation devices would be really useful. We should work on making some when we get home."

"Teleportation itself is easy enough, securing the power source is the issue." Pidge muttered, then started whispering to himself a heap of technical jargon that mostly did NOT go right over Hunk's head... And frankly it kind of freaked him out because what Pidge was saying actually made sense. Pidge had always been a genius, but this was another level again. Pidge looked over to a blank space on the wall. "Pitty I can't write all this down. I bet I will forget it when the drugs wear off."

Hunk was about to press his voltcom to talk to Lance or Chip and ask for something to write with, but he suddenly felt too tired to keep his eyes open any longer. He vaguely thought he saw something like markers flying through the air towards Pidge before his eyes closed. And really how likely was that to have happened anyway?

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Chip took off his specks and rubbed his eyes before looking back out into the black. He lay them on the console in front of him sighed as his eyes adjusted to the different light filtration. Soon he would have to face the reality of returning to New Balto, and all that came with that. He looked over to Lance, immediately fighting back memory flashes of their time together.

"This is such a smooth ride!" Lance commented from the next seat over, grinning out at the stars. "Why don't we make em like this anymore?"

"Big business." Chip replied as though it explained everything. And really, it did.

Lance cocked his head to the side. "You look different without your specks on. Are you sure you should be driving without them?"

Chip snorted and shrugged. "I don't need them to drive."

"Oh. For reading? Reading can be overrated."

"No. Nothing like that."

"Ah, just like Pidge. All secretive and stuff. Why can't you guys get contacts or something anyway? I have seen some of the eye injuries that just normal ride accidents cause, and it's not pretty. Imagine falling in a Voltron unit and smashing them into your face? What a mess that would make."

"What are you saying? Do you like me better without them?"

"I'm just curious. Pidge never takes his off, but all his medicals have proven he doesn't need them. I assume you are the same. One time, years ago, just for kicks, I nicked his specks and hid them. My god, he flipped out, absolutely hysterical I mean. He refused to open his eyes for three whole hours until Keith made me give them back. He was so pissed at me after that too. He swore revenge, but nothing revenge-like happened yet so I guess he wasn't serious."

Chip blinked at him in disbelief. "Or he is still waiting for a good opportunity to kill you in your sleep! Did you know that if you did that on Balto, you would have been put to death?"

Lance snorted. "For what? Playing a prank?"

"For tampering with our specks. We..." Chip searched for words. "I am breaking the law by even taking my specks off here. If Grand Master Steiner were here, I would be given 50 lashes."

Lance frowned. "For taking off your specks? That doesn't make any sense at all! I don't get it."

"You're not Baltan." Chip reached for his specks to put them back on, but Lance stopped him with a hand over his.

"Tell me why. Is it your eye colour? Is there something wrong with having green eyes on Balto? But that makes no sense coz I have met other Baltans who have green eyes and don't wear specks."

"No. They don't enhance our sight, they diminish it."

"What the hell would you want to diminish your sight for?"

Chip took in a deep breath. "Because... For some of us...Most Baltans really... We can see more than we should. And because we can see more than we should we are targets for the demons. No one really knows why, just that ever since we colonised Balto any child born of The Sight has to wear the shades, and enter the breeding program the moment they come of age, or risk attracting the attention of the demons who would destroy us. We are cursed. By taking off our shades we risk spreading the curse to the blessed few of our population. By staying unpartnered we will be taken by the demons for their hive."

"What a load of bull." Lance said.

"Just look at what happened to Pidge." Chip shrugged, and went to pull his hand out from under Lance's to put his specks back on, but glanced in the reflection of the window. All colour instantly drained from his face and he shot to his feet with a cry, turning to stand facing the back of the control centre. Lance also spun, whipping out his pistols, but nothing was there.

"What is it?" Lance demanded. "What's going on?"

But Chip didn't answer. His eyes were wide with horror, and he was breathing in a panicked way, backing away to press against the wall, raising his hands as though to shield himself from being struck by something. Chip squeezed his eyes shut, and whimpered - WHIMPERED! Lance had enough and stormed over to pull the young man into his arms. For a moment it was like there was an invisible wall, or static electricity, around the young man before it vanished, and Chip slumped heavily against Lance's chest, clinging tightly to his space suit. Lance said nothing while he held the quaking man tightly, just gently placed the specks over Chip's still clenched shut eyes.

The sooner they got away from this place the better for them all.

(InsertLineBreakHere)

Hunk woke to the sound of someone whispering. It sounded like a young man, and he couldn't quite understand what the words were, but caught the s's and p's when they were said. Very slowly he opened his eyes and turned his head towards Pidge's bed. Pidge was staring intently at a space across the room. But he was not talking. No one was talking. There was no one else there.

Pidge's finger tips were black, like frostbite, and there were dark smudges on the sheets where his hands rested.

Hunk realised the wall wasn't bare. None of the walls were. They were completely covered with markings and symbols and equations. Looking down, so was the floor. In some places it looked like it was written with marker, some places crayon, some places carved in, some places... Was that blood? Hunk started to feel the hair on the back of his neck and top of his head tingle and rise. He raised his eyes to the roof, and it was also covered. By all that was holy, how did it get all the way up there?

The whispering started up again, and he looked back over to Pidge, and the shadow covered figure that was sitting on his bed, leaning over to whisper in his ear.

To be continued...


End file.
